The forgotten Man
by Schizophren
Summary: People only look at his title and wealth, no one sees the real him, not even his betrothed - will he have to live with that and accept it, or will he find a woman who loves him for who and not what he is? Sequel to "The forgotten Sister" Henry's POV
1. Camille

Hello everyone and welcome to the sequel of "the forgotten sister"

It'll retell Henry's and Mary's story from Henry's POV and I hope you enjoy it.

This is just as short teaser to start with and I hope to update more often with longer chapters to come

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><p>I heaved a sigh and looked around the small ballroom. I despised gatherings like this, probably because I had to visit them on a regular basis.<p>

I disliked almost everything about it. The people, all interested in social standings and wealth instead of the person beneath the surface.

Usually I was surrounded by women, trying to catch my eye, knowing what my interest would mean. Wealth, connections, luxury.

But tonight was different for one certain reason. The woman standing to my right. Her glare scared off any potential interested ladies.

But th glare was only for others, when she looked at me, I received the most horrific expression. A smile, so bright and so obviously affected that it hurt my eyes. She flashed one of those smiled at me, once I turned back and continued to listen to whatever it was she had been telling me about.

"…which is why I think we should have the wedding as soon as possible." she concluded and I shuddered. She was talking about our wedding.

We barely knew each other. This was the second time we had actually met, how could she be so interested in marrying me?

Well, I of course knew that. It was because she was like everyone else. She wanted my title, the money, the prestige.

And that disgusted me.

Our parents had decided a long time ago that we would marry. I was not happy about that arrangement, but Camille obviously was.

That didn't stop me from hoping to find a way out of this engagement.

"I was wondering what you think about that…" she finally said and looked up at me. Her blue eyes held so much admiration, I really didn't understand that. She had pinned her blond hair skillfully to the back of her head and wore a blue dress that accented her slender figure.

It wasn't that she was plain, quite the contrary, but I didn't feel drawn to her. Which probably had to do with her character. I liked to think that the mind of a person was just as important as the appearance.

"I think we should get to know each other first." I told her honestly, even though I was already sure that I didn't want to marry her. The thought of spending the rest of my life with her pained me.

"Of course. And I cannot wait to know everything about you." She told me, again with that bright, not real, smile of hers.

"I highly doubt that." I mumbled when she started talking about. About her favorite topic. The few times I had met her, I had found out that Camille only loved one thing more than wealth and that was Camille.

I heaved another deep sight. This would be a very long night.

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><p>So what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Tell me :)<p> 


	2. Joana

Thanks for all your wonderful support for this new story.

I am happy that you enjoy it so far and like the idea of it all.

Now have fun with the next chapter and don't forget to review :)

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><p>"Oh Henry, it is a pleasure to have you here." Camille smiled at me, while walking next to me down the path of the park in London. Her chaperone walking a few steps behind us to ensure Camille's integrity.<p>

I almost laughed at that thought. I was not interested in Camille and the thought of touching her, let alone more, wasn't exciting to me.

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss." I never used her first name, why, I wasn't sure. I just knew that I didn't want to have that kind of closeness between us.

"You are too kind." she smiled at me, her long blond hair was braided and she looked at me with admiration in her blue eyes. That made me want to scream, or shake her. Even though I knew, I couldn't do any of it.

I had been raised better than that.

I really had to talk to my mother to find a way out of this commitment. Otherwise, I would never be happy in my life.

"I cannot wait to see Charlton Park." she sighed, her cheeks turning slightly red. I wondered for a moment why that was. Until she said:

"That is of course after we met the king and queen. I cannot wait to be introduced to them."

I wasn't surprised by her words. I knew from the beginning that she wanted to be as close to the royal couple as possible.

Another fact bothering me.

I knew her for months now but still knew nothing about her character. I was actually willing to say that she had no character to begin with.

All she did was agree to what I had to say and try to have the wedding as soon as possible.

"Of course." I replied, but she of course didn't notice the sarcasm in my voice. I heaved a deep sigh before I turned to her saying:

"I must excuse myself now, Miss. I have important duty to attend to." That was a lie of course, but I couldn't stand to be in her presence any longer.

And it gave me the chance to go and see my mother. I desperately needed to talk to her about the engagement.

I couldn't put it off any longer.

"Of course. You are an important man after all, but I hope to welcome you very soon in my home." she smiled up at me sounding a little breathless.

I bowed shortly, before I hurried back to my horse. I needed to be away from her, as far as possible.

Quickly I mounted my horse and steered it towards our house in London, knowing that my mother would be there.

I knew that my father would have insisted on the marriage, as Camille was the daughter of a close friend of his. It would have been of no use to argue with him about it. But he had died a few years ago and I was sure that my mother didn't like Camille.

They had met once at a social gathering and I knew my mother well enough to see her dislike, even though she covered it very successfully.

I passed the gate of our house in London and saw the stableman hurrying towards me, ready to take my steed to the stables and free him of the saddle and reins.

I jumped from Arion's back and greeted the stableman shortly.

After that, I turned and hurried into the house, in search of my mother. It didn't take long to find her. As always at this time she was in her salon, stitching.

"Henry, dear, what are you doing here? I thought you were with Miss … I actually forgot her name…" she laughed to herself and I couldn't help but join her. To me it was obvious how little she thought of Camille.

"Yes, I was. That is why I need to talk to you."

She lowered her stitch work and looked up at me, with interest shining in her blue eyes. Eyes that were so much like mine.

"It sounds quite important."

"It is mother and to be honest it is about the Lady you forgot the name of."

"I thought so." she smiled warmly at me and patted the place next to her on the lounge. I walked over and sat down, but couldn't sit still for long. Within a heartbeat, I was back on my feet and started pacing up and down in front of the lounge.

"I just cannot marry her, mother. She is far from everything I ever envisioned when I thought about my wife. Besides, she is not interested in me. All she wants is my title and the prestige…. I know I will never be happy if I marry her. I understand that it was Father's wish but…"

"Say no more…" my mother interrupted me, rising from the lounge. She walked over to me and took hold of my hands.

"Listen to me. I love you, you are my only son and all I want for you is to be happy. I want you to have everything in your life I had not. Therefore, if you feel that the lady is not the right woman for you, then I accept that. Go out there and look for a woman that is worth being your wife and once you find her, we will take care of the other engagement."

"Are you in earnest?" I gasped. I had known that she wanted my luck, but I had never expected something like this. She was willing to go against my father's wishes without a second thought?

"You should know me well enough to know the answer." she smiled up at me and I couldn't help but feel relieved. I bent down and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you mother. You don't know how much your words mean to me."


	3. Kitty

Sorry for the delay and here comes the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it :)

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><p>I looked around the crowded room and smiled to myself. Who would have thought that Fitzwilliam Darcy would hold a ball in his honor, for his birthday.<p>

It obviously had to do with his lovely wife, he was very much in love with. That, as much, was obvious.

He had changed since the last time I had seen him. He seemed more open and more important, blissfully happy.

I wondered if I would ever feel like that. If I would ever find a woman I could love as much as Mr. Darcy did. At the moment it would be enough for me to just find someone more suitable than Camille.

I watched a short interaction of Mr. Darcy and his wife, before I turned around and made my way through the crowd. A lot of people were present, most of them important or rich.

I was the only one with a title though.

That brought me a lot of attention, mostly by young eligible women and their mothers.

One of those pairs stopped me before I had the chance to get something to drink.

"We are sorry, but it seems you have no acquaintances here, so I thought I'd introduce myself and of course my wonderful daughter Kitty." I bit back a smile, because she was lucky that she had talked to me like that. I had never really cared about proprieties. So I didn't feel insulted or offended by her rather upfront introduction. It was custom that someone who knew both parties introduced them to one another or a male family member, as her husband. But she didn't seem to be able to wait until said husband was willing to do just that.

Before I actually had the chance to reply she continued her little speech.

"My daughter Elisabeth is the wife of wonderful Mr. Darcy, I am sure you have met them before. So you must be a close friend of Mr. Darcy to be invited to his birthday. And such a good looking man at that…" she sighed at the end and nudged her daughter, who was around 16 I would say, in the side. She curtsied shortly and then smiled at me with bright red cheeks.

"I am sure my daughter would love to dance." Mrs. Bennet offered, I knew her name even though she hadn't introduced herself to me. But I knew the family Mr. Darcy's wife had come from, as a lot of people didn't speak very positive of them.

I was sure that her daughter would like to dance, maybe even with me, but I didn't want to leave the impression that I might be interested in the young girl.

"I am very sorry, but I cannot stay. I have important business to attend to. But I am sure your lovely daughter will find another suitable dance partner." With that and a short bow I fled from the scene before they could say more. I left the ballroom, as I wasn't in the mood for further mother daughter groups.

I walked into a small salon that was lit by dozens of candles. A sigh escaped my lips, I felt relieved to be away from the crowd. I would never take a liking to those festivities.

I made another step into the room and realized that I wasn't alone. A young, dark haired woman sat in an armchair near the fireplace engrossed in the book in her lap.

She obviously heard my footsteps and looked up.

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><p>Well, I guess you all know who it is. I will try to update tomorrow again, can't promise anything though. So stay tuned!<p> 


	4. Mary

I said I would try to update today and tada, I did, here's the newest chapter.

Pls let me know what you think, I hope you like it. Because I do!

Now, have fun

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><p>When my eyes met her intense brown ones, I felt a jolt go through my body. I had never seen such eyes before, they were beautiful and fit perfectly into her heart shaped face with perfect pale skin. Her dark brown, or even black, I could not say because of the light, hair was pulled into a bun and allowed a perfect view on her slender neck.<p>

"Oh, I am sorry. I didn't know someone was in here." I apologized without breaking eye contact. How could I, she was gorgeous.

"No need to apologize. I just wanted some peace and quiet. I can leave if you want." she offered, which shocked me. Did she think I would be this rude to send her away, besides I wanted to keep looking at her, which I wouldn't be able to do if she left. So I hurried to say:

"That would be very impolite of me. Forcing a young Lady to leave the room even though she was in said room long before me." I slowly walked closer to her, which seemed to surprise her. The emotion was obvious in her dark eyes. She was probably not able to hide her emotions, ever, her eyes would always give her away.

When she didn't say anything and also didn't look like she wanted to, I smiled and asked:

"What are you reading?" The question didn't really matter, it was more about talking to her and not letting her go. Even though I couldn't say why I felt that urge.

Instead of saying something she raised the book from her lap, so I could see it, while sitting down in the armchair across from her.

The title said Othello. Which surprised me. I had expected love poetry or something similar. Most women did not enjoy Shakespeare's work. It seemed to this certain Lady was more than what met the eye.

"Ah… a very good choice. Though I myself like Hamlet far better."

"You have read Hamlet?" she sounded genuinely surprised, which made me laugh.

"As a matter of fact I have read all of his plays." I answered, interested in what she would say.

For a moment she studied me as if she wasn't sure what to think of me, before she continued.

"Shakespeare is one of my favorite authors." she offered me a shy smile, which made her even more beautiful in my eyes. She should smile more often and I would try to accomplish that during our conversation.

"So I take you read a lot."

"Yes, I do. Whenever my time allows it." I smiled at that. Somehow it didn't surprise me anymore. The passion she felt for books had been obvious in the few sentences we had spoken so far.

A sudden urge to touch her came over me, completely inappropriate which was why I ignored it and instead settled for finding out who she was.

"And how do you know Mr. Darcy?" For a moment she looked petrified and I wondered why such a simple question could make her react like that.

That question was answered moments later when she said:

"I am here with my mother and my younger sister to visit my older sister Elisabeth. She is Mr. Darcy's wife." Now it made sense, she was one of the sisters. It was funny though, because she looked completely different from her sisters. Much more appealing, at least to me.

I couldn't keep the smirk of my face when I thought of her younger sister and how she disappeared in comparison with her older sister.

"I have met her and also your younger sister…. They were… quite… interesting." I managed to say. I didn't want to offend her by insulting her family.

She looked at me as if she had seen a ghost before she started laughing. Free and the most honest laugh I had ever heard from a woman. I wasn't sure why she was laughing, but I couldn't find myself to care. Her dark eyes were sparkling as she did and I found myself enchanted by it.

"What is so entertaining about my words?" I finally managed to ask.

"Quite interesting is the nicest description I have ever heard for my family." She answered, her voice breathy and her cheeks flushed.

That sight made me smile.

"I just didn't want to offend you." I answered honestly at which she smiled, while shaking her head a little.

"That is very nice of you, but you should consider, as they are my family, I know them better than anyone else." She was of course right.

"You are right. I should have considered that. But then I don't have to explain their behavior in the ball room, you probably know already." She flushed again and I could understand that. It must be very difficult at times to be one of the Bennet daughters, especially someone like her, who was so different from the rest of her family.

"Then you maybe understand why I decided to stay as far away from them as possible." She explained and I understood that completely. But I didn't really care about her family at the moment. Only she was important.

I quickly got up from my chair, actually remembering my upbringing.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Bennet. My name is Henry Charles Howard." As courtesy demanded she rose from her chair as well and shortly curtsied in front of me. That allowed me to see her body in the wonderful dress she wore. It hugged her in all the right places and I once again had to fight the urge to touch her.

"The pleasure is all mine Mr. Howard." she replied looking up at me. I looked into her eyes and knew that I had to see her again. There was no other way.

"Can I be honest with you?" I asked and made a step towards her. I liked it that she didn't back away. Instead she leaned her head back to look at me. She looked utterly confused which amused me even more.

"Of course…" she answered looking overwhelmed, if it was the inappropriate closeness or my question I couldn't say.

"I really enjoyed our conversation. I would like to see you again. How long are you staying with the Darcys?"

Her eyes grew wide and she looked more than surprised, as if she couldn't understand my interest in her, which I could not understand. Who could look at her and not want to know her better?

"We are staying over the winter, then we will return to Hertfordshire." I could feel a grin breaking out on my face upon hearing her words. She would be here for the next months? I had actually planned to go back to London or Charlton Park the very next day. But now I had a reason to stay close to Pemberley for a while longer.

So I hurried to say:

"Very well then, would it be alright with you, if I visited you tomorrow at noon, we could walk through the parks of Pemberley."

She looked at me with wide eyes, obviously overwhelmed, but finally nodded, which made me sigh in relief. I wasn't sure how I would have handled a no. But lucky enough that thought wasn't necessary.

"Then I will see you tomorrow and retire for today. Have a good night." I smiled and looked at her for another long moment, before bowing and turning to leave.

She was still standing behind me and I had to fight the urge to turn around and look at her once again, but I withstood it.

"My horse please." I told the servant who was waiting next to the entrance door. He nodded and hurried towards the stables.

I looked after him not able to wipe the smile off my face. I was more than certain that a pair of chocolate brown eyes would follow me until I saw them again.

And to be honest I could not wait for it.

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><p>So, what do you think of their first meeting from Henry's POV? Everything you expected?<p> 


	5. The Earl

"_Dear Mother,_

_I am doing very well, so you don__'__t need to worry about me. _

_As a matter of fact I will be staying in Lambton for a little while, as something caught my interest._

_I will let you know more as soon as I do. _

_Until then take care of yourself,_

_Your son_

_Henry.__"_

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><p>I sealed the envelope and handed it to the messenger who was patiently waiting next to me. I paid him a lot of money for this message so his patience was understandable. When I handed him the letter, he smiled shortly, before bowing and leaving the inn I was staying in.<p>

After he had left I finished my late breakfast and got up with a smile on my face. Because it was finally time to do what I had been waiting for all Morning.

Visit a certain Miss Bennet.

I left the inn and made my way to the stables, where my steed was already saddled. I thanked the stableman by handing him a few coins and mounted my horse.

Slowly I rode through the buzzing city that Lambton was. Many people were outside enjoying the warm day, which was probably the last one for a while. Winter was fast approaching.

Soon enough Pemberley appeared in front of me and it looked beautiful. It was one of the most wonderful estates in all of England. But I was biased, because in my opinion no estate was better than Charlton Park, which had been in my family's possession for decades.

I stopped my horse in front of the entrance and soon enough a servant came running to take the reins of my horse. I dismounted and found myself faced by another servant, the maid curtsied shortly, looking nervous.

"Miss… Bennet awaits me." I realized that I didn't know her first name. A negligence I would immediately take care of.

"Which Miss Bennet? And who may I announce?" The maid asked and I thought for a moment. Mrs. Bennet had introduced the younger girl the night before. Kitty was her name, so I just hoped that only one other Miss Bennet was present.

"Not Miss Kitty Bennet, her sister. And my name is Henry Charles Howard, she is awaiting me."

"Of course. You mean Miss Mary then. I will inform her right away. But before that please follow me into one of the salons where you can wait for her."

"Thank you." I smiled and followed her into the house, down a hallway and into a salon flooded by sunlight. There was a comfortable looking lounge, a few armchairs in it and a piano. I knew that Mr. Darcy's sister Georgiana played the Piano. So this was probably for her to practice.

"I'll inform Miss Bennet immediately." the maid told me and left the salon. I walked closer to the window and looked outside. It was the perfect weather for a walk in the park.

And I now knew her first name. Mary. I liked the sound of that.

I didn't need to wait long until I heard footsteps hurrying towards the door. They stopped shortly in front of it and then it was opened. In the door stood Mary and she looked just as pretty as I remembered. Her hair was again pulled into a tight bun in the nape of her neck and I wondered how her hair looked like when she wore it open.

I smiled happily and made a step towards her.

"Good Morning Miss Bennet, I hope you rested well." I greeted her and stopped only a few feet away from her.

"Good Morning, yes I did. Thank you." She smiled, even though she still looked a little unsure.

"The weather is wonderful, so how about we continue our chat outside?" I asked and offered my arm to her. I knew that we shouldn't be alone, people would question her virtue if they would find out. But I wanted to be alone with her and get to know her better.

So I was happy when she accepted my arm and I could lead her out of the door of the salon, that lead down a path to the park below.

She was very quiet walking next to me, obviously in her own world. That gave me the chance to take her in and enjoy the view.

Did she know how fascinating she was? It didn't seem like it, from what I had learned so far.

She interrupted my thoughts by asking:

"What are you doing here?" she sounded so genuinely surprised that I had to stop and look down at her. What did she mean? I had told her, I would visit her today, so why was she so surprised by my appearance?

"I told you I would visit you today." I finally managed to answer.

"But why? I mean you are the Earl of Suffolk and I am no one." So that was the reason. I should have expected her to find it out soon, but I hadn't thought about it. Once in my life I had felt like a normal man and not like an Earl.

But how could she say that she was no one? Did she think so little of herself? With everything she had said so far I came to the conclusion that she didn't think very highly of herself. I wondered why.

"So you found out?" I asked with a small smile.

"Of course I did, after all my sister knows who you are." She told me and I nodded, of course, I hadn't thought of that.

"I forgot about that. But to your question. I told you yesterday that I enjoyed our conversation. Isn't that alone reason enough for me to be here? Oh and trust me, you are not no one." I just had to add that. She needed to understand how wonderful she was, even though I was sure it would take a while.

"But it is improper for you to even speak with someone of my social standing." She answered and started walking again, I quickly followed her. When we reached the first trees I chuckled and said:

"I never cared what's respectable and what's not, fortunately my mother is a distant relative of King George III and she is very dear to him, that gives me more freedom than others." That was the truth, but to be completely honest I wouldn't care if my mother had relations to the king or not. I wanted to know this woman! And I would only stop when this need was satisfied.

She obviously understood that I enjoyed a certain freedom because she nodded slowly not saying anything.

"You see, there is no reason for you to worry." I told her and was amused when she said nothing and we just walked through the park for a moment. I had offered her my arm again and she had placed her small hand on it. I rather enjoyed the closeness and her touch. There was no need for words right now. She obviously understood that as well, even though I had never met a woman who did. That made her all the more interesting in my eyes.

"The park is beautiful." she said after a while and changed the subject. I was not about to argue, so I answered:

"You are indeed right, but you should see the gardens of Charlton Park, in my opinion they are far more beautiful than these!"

"Really?" she gasped, looking as if she couldn't believe that. Well, she hadn't seen Charlton Park… yet.

I smiled at my own thought, yet, I liked the sound of that.

"Yes, you should visit the estate when you happen to be in Wiltshire."

"I would love that." She replied honestly and I wanted her at Charlton Park. To look at the building with the same admiration she had for Pemberley.

"I am sure you would. So tell me about your life in Hertfordshire." I answered and was waiting impatiently for her answer.

"There is not much to tell, honestly. I spend most of my time reading or playing the piano. I don't like to visit the different balls all that much." she said, which made me smile, as I felt exactly the same. It seemed like the Lady and I had much more in common than I had expected.

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><p>"<em>Dear Mother,<em>

_My return to Charlton Park will be delayed by a few months. As mentioned in my last letter something, or rather someone caught my interest and I want to spend as much time with her as possible before I make any decisions._

_I am sure you can understand that._

_Your son Henry.__"_

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><p>Alright, that's it for the newest chapter and pls let me know what you think, ok?<em><br>_


	6. Henry

Thanks for everyone who reviewed, I really love reading what you think about my little story and yes it is a lot of fun to write from Henry's POV.

So here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it and I will see if I can publish another one later or tomorrow.

So stay tuned!

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><p>It had been three weeks since my first visit at Pemberley and since then I had been there for at least six times and I had enjoyed every new meeting more than the one before. I knew that Mary was special, but she obviously didn't think so or understood my interest in her.<p>

I wouldn't mind spending the upcoming years to prove to her how special she was.

With a smile I rounded the corner and found myself in front of Pemberley. The, by now, well known estate looked beautiful against the dark sky. It looked like it would rain any minute and I couldn't care less. All I wanted was to talk to Mary.

So I knocked and didn't need to wait long until a servant opened the door for me. They knew me as well, considering I was visiting on a regular basis.

"Good Morning my lord." the young maid greeted me, before leading me into the house and into the salon where I always met Mary.

"I will inform Miss Bennet right away."

"Thank you." I smiled shortly at her before she could hurry from the room.

I walked over to one of the lounges and sat down. Within minutes it had started to rain heavily. The drops were pattering against the window and I closed my eyes for a short moment, enjoying the sound of it.

I had always liked rain, the sound was soothing to me.

When I heard footsteps coming towards the door, I quickly got up and turned towards it. My heart was racing in my chest in anticipation. Even though it had not been more than two days since the last time I had seen her, I had missed her.

The door opened and Mary walked into the room. She wore a simple light blue dress and wore her hair in her usual bun.

"Good Morning Mr. Howard." she greeted me with a smile. She was obviously just as happy about my return, as I was.

"Good Morning Miss Bennet." I said, feeling the need to call her by her first name, but I couldn't just do that, not as long as she refused to use mine. Even though I had offered it many days ago.

"I don't think we will be able to leave the house today." she said with a look to the window, while closing the door behind herself.

I knew that we had to have someone with us at all times. Meeting like this was highly inappropriate. More for her than for me. When people would start doubting her virtue she would disgrace her family and herself.

That is why no one knew about our meetings. Only her sister Elisabeth and probably her husband, at least I assumed that she told him about my visits.

"I think you are right. But I was wondering for quite a while, if you would play something for me. Now is the perfect time."

Her eyes widened slightly and she looked at her feet.

"You mean the piano?" she asked, obviously self conscious.

"Yes." I chuckled, what else could I mean. "Please. It would really be a pleasure for me to hear you play." I continued and looked at her. She raised her eyes from her feet to meet my gaze. After taking a deep breath she nodded slowly.

"Very well, if it is your wish Mr. Howard."

"And please call me Henry." I told her yet again. She blushed a little and shook her head.

"I cannot do that. I am sorry." She quickly hurried over to the piano and I sat back down on the lounge. I knew when I had lost a battle. With Miss Mary Bennet it seemed, I barely won one. Which amused and intrigued me.

I watched her place her hands on the keys of the piano and not long after she played a wonderful sonata. She had told me often how much she enjoyed playing, but I had not expected this. Her playing was superb. She played with an ease I had never heard before, all the while playing without any flaws.

I got up from the lounge and walked closer to her. I could see her shoulders tense, when I was only a few feet away.

"You play wonderful." I told her honestly and watched a blush appear on her pale cheeks.

"Thank you." she whispered, without tearing her eyes off the keys.

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><p>"Mr. Howard, there is a letter for you." the innkeeper told me after I returned from one of my visits to Pemberley.<p>

"Thank you." I said after he handed the letter to me. I immediately recognized the handwriting. It was my mother's.

Without any delay, I opened the envelope and unfolded the parchment.

"_My dearest Son,_

_I was very happy to receive your letter. So you have found a woman who is worth your time? I cannot wait to meet this Lady. I am sure she must be very special, if she is able to hold your attention._

_I can only advise you again to follow your heart and once you are sure I want you to make the right decision and let nothing stop you from doing what your heart tells you._

_All I want for you is to be happy._

_So please inform me as soon as you have come to a decision._

_Love,_

_Joana.__"_

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><p>That's it for now, so what do you think?<p>

Cheers, have a great weekend


	7. Mothers

After months and countless meetings, I knew what I wanted. And I had never wanted something as much as I wanted a certain Miss Mary Bennet. In my life, for the rest of it. I knew I needed to propose as soon as possible. Which meant, the very next day, when I would meet her again.

I had never been the type to let anything I wanted escape my grasp and it wouldn't start now. Not when it was so important.

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><p>The next time Mary and I were walking through the parks of Pemberley I knew this was my chance. I needed to ask her now.<p>

But she seemed a little distracted, had barely said two words since we had left the house.

"What is the matter with you today? You seem deep in thoughts." I asked, hoping to find out what was the matter with her and if there was something I could do to help her.

"There is just a lot on my mind, at the moment." she told me, playing with her dark gloves.

"Tell me about it." I said and looked down at her. We had stopped walking and she just looked back at me with a gentle smile on her face. I knew that she liked spending time with me, just as much as I liked being with her.

"My family and I will return to Hertfordshire tomorrow." She finally said and my heart stopped beating. The winter was already over? She would return home? I hadn't thought of that. This was my last chance to propose to her, before we had to go our separate ways.

"I forgot about that." I told her honestly. I had been more interested in her than actually thinking about how much time we had left together.

"I didn't and it is just that I am going to miss everything I had here." I could understand that. After everything she told me about her life in Hertfordshire, it was not worth returning to. And if I had my way, then she didn't have to. Then she would go with me and never leave my side again.

"That is understandable…" I answered, thinking of the best way to propose.

"Now you are the one deep in thoughts." she interrupted my thoughts, which made me smile. She knew me too well. No one besides my mother had ever known me this good, also something I liked about her. That she was interested in me, as a man and not as an Earl.

"Yes… there is something I have been thinking about for months, something I meant to ask you, I guess now is the time because …." but I couldn't continue because we heard the high screeched voice of her mother. I would recognize that voice everywhere. Mary whirled around, her mother was nowhere to be seen. But her voice was coming closer.

"Mary? Mary, where are you?"

"It would be better for you to go now, or my mother will never let you go again." she told me, even though that was exactly what I had in mind. But before I had the time to answer she hurried to say:

"Thank you for this wonderful winter, I will never forget it." With a last smile, she gathered her skirts and hurried towards the voice of her mother. I didn't want to let her go. But I did not want her mother with us, when I proposed. And this would also give me the chance to take care of the engagement to Camille first, before I asked her to marry me. I didn't want anything to get in our way.

So, while I watched her disappear, I decided to return home for a short time. Annul the engagement and tell my mother about my plans and also about Mary.

Somehow satisfied, I turned around and made my way to the estate as well.

Of course I would miss her, but I could probably take care of everything within a few days which meant, including the traveling I would be separated from her for not much more than 2 weeks.

Even though 2 weeks, was not a long time, for me it felt like an eternity. The only thought helping me was that after those two weeks, I would never have to be without her again.

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><p>I had never ridden this fast, only half a week later, I had to steady my horse in front of the entrance of Charlton Park.<p>

I had already jumped from the back of my steed, when Gabe, the stableman hurried over to me and took my horse from me.

"Welcome back my lord." he greeted me with a bow. I smiled shortly back, but I had more pressing matters in mind.

It was still early in the morning and was sure I would find my mother in one of the salons eating breakfast.

With long strides I hurried through the house and towards the salon she liked the most. I found her sitting at the window, sipping her tea. When she heard me coming in a smile appeared on her lips.

"Henry, you are back." She looked at me and then at the door, which made me smile. She had obviously expected me to bring someone with me. And oh, how I longed for that. But I had to be patient, not one of my virtues, to be honest.

"And alone I see… Sit down and tell me what happened." She poured me a cup of tea and I sat down across from her.

"I won't stay long mother. I just want to annul my engagement to Camille before I propose to Mary."

"So that is her name. Mary. Tell me about her." I could see the happiness in my mother's eyes and I was glad she felt that way about Mary, without actually having met her.

"She is wonderful mother. You will love her. She is smart, funny, honest and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

"What about her family, have you met any of them?"

I sighed, the only thing which I was fearing to tell my mother about because I knew how much they were under our social standing. Not to forget the behavior of her mother and sister.

"Yes, I met her mother and two sisters. One is actually married to Mr. Darcy, which is how I met her."

"Mr. Darcy… wasn't he married to the young girl, Lady de Bourgh talked so badly about?"

"You don't like Lady de Bourgh." I reminded her with a small smile.

"I know. But I heard a lot about her family. They are… common, if I am polite, at least regarding to what people told me."

"It is true, they are far below our social standing. But I don't care. Mary is the one I want. She is the woman I want to have as my wife. So I will not change my mind. Nothing you can say, will make me reconsider my decision."

She looked at me for a very long moment and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. Yes, everything I had said, was the truth. I would marry Mary, no matter what my mother or someone else said. But I hoped she would accept my decision. And more important would make Mary feel welcome in our home.

"You already have very strong feelings for her, am I right?"

"Yes." I answered, looking her straight in the eye. My pounding heart slowed down when she smiled and nodded.

"That is all I want from her. So what are you waiting for then? Go and bring her home."

"I will, after I wrote the letter to Camille's family."

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><p>Hm… I like Henry and his Mom together. It is fun to write them. Hope you enjoyed it.<p> 


	8. Mr Henceforth

Thanks for the great reviews, it really makes writing this worthwhile, besides that I am actually having a lot of fun playing with Henry :)

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><p>Two weeks had passed since I had last seen Mary, when I reached Hertfordshire.<p>

It was too late to go to her house today, so I needed to wait until the next morning.

I stopped in front of the nearest inn and walked into the small room. It would do for one night.

"Welcome, may I help you?" the owner asked with a bright, half toothless, grin.

"I need a room for tonight and also someone to take care of my horse."

"Of course. We will arrange it. Do you also want something to eat?" As I hadn't eaten in hours, it sounded like a good idea.

"Yes, thank you very much." I walked over to one of the tables, as a matter of fact all of them were occupied, so I chose the one, where only one man sat. He was in his mid forties, with dark hair and eyes.

"Good Evening. Is this seat taken?" I asked and he looked up from the letter he had been writing.

"No of course not. Suit yourself." he told me with a bright smile, obviously very happy about something. I returned his smile, knowing I would be just as happy in a matter of hours.

"Thank you." I said and took a seat on the bench at the wall.

"May I ask your name, you seem familiar." the middle aged man asked. It could of course be that we had met before at some festivity.

"Henry Charles Howard. I don't remember meeting you though."

"Oh, of course. I just visited a festivity of a young woman, about a week ago. Miss Camille Stanford. She told everyone about your upcoming marriage. My name is James Henceforth."

I hadn't known that Camille's family had a summer house here in Hertfordshire, but to be honest. I had never really listened to what she had told me before.

"Congratulations, you surely have chosen a beautiful bride. For me other things are important than looks, but I am sure, in your position I would have made the same decision."

I couldn't help myself, I felt offended by his words. He didn't know me, but assumed I was only interested in the appearance of a woman and not in her mind or heart. He had no idea how wrong he was, especially, when I thought of my real bride. She was everything, beautiful, smart AND caring.

"So I take you are married." I continued the small talk to be polite, even though I wasn't interested in his answer.

"My wife died, but I am engaged to a certain Lady to replace her."

That sounded harsh. Wanting to marry a woman just to have her as a replacement for your dead wife.

"If you excuse me, I have a long day ahead of me." he excused himself and disappeared upstairs, of which I was thankful. I didn't like this man.

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes and realized that it was later than I had intended. It had been an exhausting journey and I hadn't slept well the last days. The exhaustion had finally caught up with me. Which made it already early noon.<p>

I got out of the bed, washed myself and dressed, excited about meeting Mary again and finally asking the one question that was the most important.

Before that I would quickly eat something and then immediately ride to her house. I walked into the buzzing taproom and over to the counter.

"Could I have some late breakfast?"

"Of course." The innkeeper replied with a polite smile and I took a seat next to a group of young women talking animatedly over their tea.

I could not help but overhear their conversation.

"I cannot believe it. He is twice her age."

"Yes, but probably the only one who wants her."

"You are right, her character is difficult to put it nicely." another woman laughed and I smiled to myself, knowing that Mary was the complete opposite to them. She would never talk bad about someone. For that she was too good hearted.

"Your lunch sir." The innkeeper brought a bowl of grey oatmeal. Not my favorite, but I didn't care at the moment. I just wanted to eat and then go to see Mary again.

"Mrs. Bennet is thrilled of course." When I heard that, I perked. Mrs. Bennet? Another of her daughters was getting married? Kitty? I remembered the name of the younger one and wasn't sure if she had any other sisters that were unmarried.

"Of course she is, having Mary out of the house within the week." I froze. That could not be. I was misunderstanding what they were saying. I tried to calm my racing heart, by telling me that over and over again.

To know for sure I turned to the group and asked:

"Excuse me. But are you talking about Miss Mary Bennet? She is getting married?"

"Oh yes, he just asked her a week ago." One of the ladies replied, looking a little flustered. I didn't care. That could not be. Mary could not get married to someone else. That must have been a horrible dream.

I felt my temper rising. I needed to know the name of the man who dared to ask her for her hand in marriage.

"Who?"

"A Mr. Henceforth from Bedfordshire." The middle aged man from yesterday evening. He had dared to ask Mary?

Without another word, I jumped up and hurried out of the door. I could not allow that. She could not marry that man.

She was mine and would always be. I would not allow any other man to ever lay one finger on her.

Angry was not enough to describe my mood. I was seething, never in my life had I felt the need to hurt someone, but now I did. I wanted to kill the man who dared to ask Mary and not because he loved her, like she deserved, but because he wanted a replacement for his wife.

I didn't wait for a servant to bring my horse, I went into the stables and found Arion quickly. Within minutes I had him saddled and jumped onto his back.

I had no time for delay. I needed to talk to Mary, telling her that she had no right to agree. Didn't she know that she was mine? And that I wanted her as my bride? Wasn't it obvious, all those months at Pemberley?

I reached her house in no time, pushing Arion to his limits. In front of the door, I dismounted and stormed into the house without caring about courtesy or politeness.

I looked around and saw Mrs. Bennet in a small salon to my right. I stormed towards her and while walking she noticed me.

"Who.." she asked, but I didn't let her finish her question.

"Where is she?" I asked, my voice loud enough for the whole house to hear.

"Who… what, what is going on?" she looked utterly confused and I could understand that, but I had no patience to introduce me now. I needed to talk to Mary, right now.

"Your daughter. Mary! Where is she?"

"Why do you want to know that, who are you? She is already engaged." That was not helping. My anger boiled and I shouted.

"I don't care. I just need to talk to her." Mrs. Bennet actually looked petrified, as if she expected me to hurt her. I felt sorry for scaring her, but at the moment, nothing mattered besides Mary and I had no time to waste. I would apologize later. Besides, I would never hurt a woman, no matter how angry I was.

"I guess you are looking for Mary." I heard a familiar voice behind me. I whirled around and saw a very pregnant Elisabeth Darcy in the doorway. Finally someone with some sense.

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><p>This is for all the readers who would have liked to know what was going through Henry's mind when he found out about Mary's engagement.<p>

So pls tell me what you think, I hope you enjoyed it.


	9. Finally

"Yes, where can I find her?"

"I don't know for sure, she ran off." She answered and I cursed, of course, everything else would have been too easy.

"Where did Mary go?" Mrs. Darcy asked her mother.

"Towards the park." she replied obviously confused by the whole situation.

That was enough for me. I had passed the park on my way to the house. I quickly left the salon and hurried down the path that lead into the park.

Where could she be? How far had she gone into the park?

I needed to find her, quick. Angry I stalked through the park and grew more aggravated with every step.

When I finally found her, deep inside the park on a bench I felt a weird combination of feelings.

I was relived and I was happy to see her again, but at the same time sad because of the engagement and that she obviously didn't care about me as much as I had hoped. But the strongest was my anger.

So without wasting any more time, I stalked towards her and shouted:

"What do you think you are doing?" She looked up, completely shocked, obviously not expecting me.

"What….?" was the only thing she was able to mumble. Her confusion didn't stop my anger though.

"How can you even consider doing this?" I barked and she looked even more confused than before. It would be amusing to see her puzzled expression, if the reason for the puzzlement wasn't so aggravating.

"Doing what?" She asked, her eyes big and filled with a combination of confusion, worry and sadness.

It hurt me to see her like this. But she had brought it upon herself.

"You cannot just marry James Henceforth, he could be your father and the only thing he wants is a replacement for his dead wife." For a moment she just looked stunned, but then she came back to life and said:

"I know that." That took me by surprise. She knew it and had still agreed? How could she? Did she love him that much? That thought pained me more than anything ever before.

"Then why are you doing this?" I asked. Hoping for… well anything besides the fact that she loved that man.

As soon as I asked this question, I could see her own anger. She was angry? Why?

"That is nothing of your concern!"

"Nothing…. Are you out of your mind?" Not my concern? How could she be so cold, after everything we had told each other? I walked closer to her and took hold of her shoulders. I felt the urge to shake her, shake some sense into her pretty head, but I fought the urge. Instead I told her.

"You cannot just get married."

"I can do whatever I want, it is my life and you are no longer a part of it." I felt as someone had punched me. I had never heard her talking like this. She was just as angry as I, but why?

"You are angry with me?" I asked confused. Why? What had I done?

"Yes I am. I thought we were honest with each other." she told me, I could see tears in her eyes and wondered what she meant.

"We were, we are… I don't…"

"I was, but you weren't." she told me, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I was honest with you…" I said and she shook her head, looking sad and tired.

"Really? So you told me everything?" She asked. I didn't need to think twice about that question. Of course I had, as a matter of fact more than just everything.

"Yes. I told you more than I have ever told anyone before."

"Well it seems like you have forgotten one important fact…."

"And that would be?" I asked, letting go of her shoulders and crossing my arms in front of my own chest. I was still angry.

"Your fiancé Camille." I groaned and ran my hands through my hair. I should have expected her to be at the festivity a week ago and now I understood her anger. She thought I had lied to her. She probably felt as bad as I had, when I had heard of her engagement. I needed to explain it to her.

"My father chose her for me, when we were both very young. But when he died a few years ago, my mother said to me that I could marry the girl I want. She wants me to be happy and make my own decisions. That is why I talked to her after our last day at Pemberley. A letter is already sent to Camille, she will receive it within the next few days. In this letter we will annul the engagement, so I can marry the woman I want."

For a long moment Mary looked at me, obviously not sure what to make of my words. That amused me, but only until I thought of her engagement with Henceforth.

There was one thing I needed to know before I could ask her to marry me and not him.

"Do you want to marry him?"

"No!"

"Then why did you say yes?" I needed to know, why had she said yes, if she didn't want to marry him?

"Because I couldn't wait for someone else. My mother brought it to the point, I am plain, I don't get along very good with other people, I spend too much time in the library and with my piano, so who would want me?" I shook my head, how could she think so low of herself? Everyone would want her, everyone who was smart enough to see how perfect she was.

"I do." I smiled and put my hands on her small shoulders again.

A big smile broke out on her face, when I said that.

"You really mean that?" she whispered, looking up at me with big eyes.

"Of course I do. It had been you since the moment I saw you at Pemberley." I replied honestly, which made her blush. I just wanted to kiss her right here and now, but I knew that was too soon and against every rule. So I ignored the burning need in my chest and looked at her, enjoying to look into her eyes again.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked after a few moments, obviously unsure. Which amused me. What did she think we were doing now? She would annul her engagement and I would take her with me to Charlton Park.

"Well, first of all I will talk to your father, that he sends this James Henceforth a letter in which he annuls the engagement and then we should talk to your mother." She nodded, still overwhelmed by everything that was happening.

Her confusion soon turned into a soft smile and once again I had to keep myself from kissing her rosy lips. Instead I leaned a little closer and whispered:

"What is amusing you?"

"Just the thought of my mother's reaction." She told me, sounding a little breathless, which I liked very much. I couldn't keep the smirk of my face, when I imagined the reaction of her mother. An Earl wanting to marry one of her daughters

"I think she will be pleased."

"I think that is an understatement." she told me with a little laugh. I leaned closer again and kissed her cheek instead of her lips as every part of my being was screaming.

"We should go and talk to your parents, my mother wants to meet you as soon as possible." I whispered against her cheek and when I took a look at her face again, I saw that she was bright red.

I liked the effect I had on her.

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><p>Sorry for the late update but I am moving into my new flat, loads of things to do, so busy, busy, busy. But finally here it is. So, what do you think?<p> 


	10. Telling the parents

I know, I'm late with the update for this week, that's why this chapter is extra long! :)

I hope you enjoy it and as always, let me know what you think, pls

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><p>"That means?" she asked, even more breathless than before<p>

"You and your family will accompany me to Charlton Park, my mother is awaiting us, and your family is welcome to stay until our wedding." After saying that she gasped and looked absolutely petrified. That left me confused, why was she reacting like that?

"You are going to regret that…" she told me, with a sad sigh.

"What is making you sad?" I needed to know, how could she be sad in a moment like this? So I took hold of her face with both of my hands to make her look at me, as she was avoiding my gaze.

"Just everything… I mean you put up with so much misery just because of me and there is nothing I can give you to make it up to you."

How could she be this naïve? I was not getting anything back? I did get her, did I not? Wasn't that the best gift of all?

She obviously needed more time to realize her own worth, I was sure her mother hadn't been helping either by telling her all these horrible things. She was not plain, quite the opposite.

"Oh but my dear, you already do, just by being with me you give me more than you can imagine. I am willing to endure every misery there is when it results in you becoming my wife!"

I was relived to see her smile at my words.

"If you say so… then we should go back to my mother and my father." she said and I let go of her face.

"Now, that sounds like a good idea to me." I offered my arm to her and asked, with a big smile.

"Shall we Milady?" She returned my smile and took my arm. I enjoyed the closeness between us and could not wait for her father to write the letter to this horrible James Henceforth to make sure that he knew he had no chance to ever call Mary his wife.

I felt Mary stiffen next to me, once the house came into view. I knew she was worried about her mother's reaction, but I was too happy to care about that. Mrs. Bennet could do whatever she wanted; it would never make me think less of Mary.

"Better brace yourself." she told me once we reached the entrance door.

"Don't worry about me, I am tough." I told her with a shrug, which seemed to surprise her. I just needed her to know that I didn't care about her family or how embarrassing they were. I wanted her and not her family.

We stopped in the hallway and decided to go into the direction from where we heard excited voices. One unmistakably Mrs. Bennet's.

We entered the salon and she looked up at us. It seemed Mrs. Darcy had told her about my intentions because she looked blissfully happy.

Within seconds she ran towards her daughter and hugged her hard. Mary, who hadn't expected that, stumbled backwards. I quickly reacted and wrapped my arm around her middle to steady her. She sighed relieved and offered me a small smile over her mother's head who was by no sobbing on her shoulder.

"I told mother everything about your stay at Pemberley, you haven't told her." Mrs. Darcy explained the behavior of their mother. That made sense. Because she obviously expected me to propose to her.

Once she had calmed a little, she let go of Mary and turned towards me. It was quite a sight to be honest. Her eyes were red and puffy, her nose was running and her hair tousled. The problem was that she was still sobbing and so she stumbled slightly, while wiping her nose with the sleeve of her dress. I had to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing. This sight was quite amusing, but I did my best to stay serious.

I could feel Mary's eyes on me and I knew that she was worried of my reaction, so I did the only thing I could do in this situation. Pretend nothing was wrong. I bowed and put on my most charming smile.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Bennet, please excuse my rudeness of not asking you first for your daughter's hand in marriage, I hope you can forgive me." Again, I fought the urge to laugh when not only Mrs. Bennet but also Mary stared at me with their mouths slightly hanging open.

Mrs. Bennet was the first to recover from the shock, she laughed nervously and answered:

"Oh my lord you have no reason to apologize you don't have to ask my husband or me, you can have Mary." I could have her? That choice of words was very unfavorable. I didn't mind, but I could understand that these words embarrassed Mary very much. So I shortly looked at her to offer her a smile that told her I wasn't taking her mother seriously.

Even though she was right, Mary was mine now.

"As you don't seem to have objections regarding the wedding I would like to invite your family to stay with my mother and I at Charlton Park until Mary and I are married." I said without hesitating once and as soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I had shocked Mrs. Bennet once more. Her facial expression made me smile because she seemed about the faint. With her mouth hanging open she stared at me and didn't move at all until with a screech she came back to life. Within seconds she was out of the salon, while we heard her screaming:

"Mr. Bennet, Kitty, hurry, pack your backs."

"I take that as I yes!" I chuckled and looked at Mary who seemed a little overwhelmed by the whole situation. Before I had the chance to say something, Mrs. Darcy hugged her sister and kissed both of her cheeks.

"See, I told you you could do better." she smiled at her, before turning towards me.

"I expect you to make her happy!" she ordered, which amused me even more. I liked honest people and that was the reason I respected her because she always spoke her mind no matter what others thought of it.

"You can Mrs. Darcy." I smiled, and then turned to Mary.

"I guess you should go and pack too!"

She nodded slowly, obviously not completely comprehending the situation. After a short moment, her mind caught up with what I had said and I could see an expression of pure bliss in her expressive eyes. She smiled at me, before hurrying from the salon and upstairs to her room, at least I assumed that.

Before I could leave, I needed to talk to her father first, make sure that he took care of Mr. Henceforth.

"If you excuse me Mrs. Darcy, there are some things I have to talk about with your father."

"Of course. I need to return to Fitzwilliam anyway. I am sure he is worried about us." She smiled placing a hand on her growing belly.

"I am certain he is. Have a safe journey."

"You as well. And I am waiting for an invitation for your wedding."

"Knowing my mother. You will receive it within the week." I told her which made her smile, before saying her final goodbyes.

I, myself turned around and walked back into the hallway wondering where I would find Mr. Bennet. I didn't need long to find him. The door to his study was open and I could see him sitting in his chair looking out of the window.

"Mr. Bennet?" I asked walking into the room.

"You must be the Earl then." he said, sounding not too thrilled, quite the opposite to his wife.

"Yes Sir. I just wanted to ask you to write a letter to this Mr. Henceforth about the marriage."

A short smile appeared on his lips of which I was not sure what it meant.

"I already did that." he said and leaned back in his chair.

"Thank you." I told him, not sure what else to say.

"I heard you invited us to your home." he finally broke the silence and I nodded.

"That is right."

"That is very generous of you. Are you sure you can… handle my family for the upcoming weeks?" I saw the spark in his eyes and smiled at his words, he obviously spoke about his wife and the younger daughter.

"I don't think that will be a problem." I answered honestly.

"Very well, then we should leave as soon as possible. Why don't you go and ask Mary if she has finished packing? Her room is the last one on the right on the second floor." I was surprised by this offer, he allowed me to be alone with his daughter? But I would definitely not ask twice. So I nodded and quickly left the study before he changed his mind. I climbed the stairs and walked down the hallway to the last door on the right.

In front of it I stopped shortly, before knocking and entering.

"Are you finished yet?" I asked watching her putting things into a chest to her feet.

"Almost, I am sorry. I will hurry." she told me and grabbed a few books to put them into the chest. I sat down on her bed and crossed my arms in front of my chest. I chuckled to myself before saying:

"Don't apologize, take all the time you need, I won't leave without you!" I watched her blush and stuff more books into her chest. I should have expected that, knowing how much she loved books.

"You know, Charlton Park has its own library. You don't need to take your own with you!" I teased her and she looked a little flustered at that.

"Those books are very dear to me. They were my life; I cannot just leave them behind." She explained and that hurt me. That her life had been so uneventful that she had felt the need to hide in books. I would make sure that it changed from now on.

"Well, you won't need to hide in books anymore! I promise you that your new life will be worth living and casting the books aside. At least most of the time." She smiled happily at my words and nodded.

"Very well, I think that's all!" She said when she closed the chest, which was rather difficult because of all the books inside. I got up from her bed and walked over to where she was kneeling in front of the chest.

"Good, I am sure your family is ready too. Let's go then." I offered her my hand to help her back to her feet. She accepted it.

Once she stood, I realized my mistake. Because she was standing very close to me. Only a few inches separated our bodies and I almost lost the fight with my self-control because of the closeness and her intoxicating smell of flowers and something I couldn't place.

She obviously felt the same because I could see it in her eyes. I saw the Goosebumps on her arms and smiled to myself, satisfied by the effect I had on her.

I really wanted to touch her and without thinking about it further, I raised my hand and let my fingers roam over the soft skin of her cheek. She blushed dark crimson because of the touch and that made me want to kiss her, yet again.

I leaned closer to her, so that I could feel her sweet breath on my face and the only reason I didn't kiss her on the lips was that she deserved better. She was special and she deserved all my patience. Even though it wasn't all that much.

So instead of kissing her lips, I placed a kiss upon her forehead and sighed deeply:

"I cannot wait for you to be my wife, then I don't have to think about what is appropriate and what is not!" She turned an even darker shade of red after hearing my words, which made me laugh silently.

"Since when do you care what is appropriate?" she asked and I smirked, she knew me too well. Usually I didn't care. All of our meetings had been inappropriate, but I hadn't cared and neither had she.

I laughed about her words and kissed her cheek tenderly. This was once more a reason why I wanted her as my wife, because she made me laugh.

"Since I am engaged." I replied smiling.

The shrill voice of her mother ended our tender moment and prompted me to take a step back.

"We should go." Mary nodded and I took the chest from the ground. It was heavier than I had expected.

"You only packed books?" I asked, with a groan because of the weight of the chest.

"Almost." she admitted sheepishly. I shook my head amused about it. Without many problems I left the room and walked down the steps where Mrs. Bennet almost fainted

watching me carry the chest. Two maids took it from me and I walked outside, where Arion was waiting next to a small carriage. Mary was right next to me and after a short moment she asked:

"How long do we need to reach Charlton Park?"

"Considering the carriage and its pace. I think about five days." I watched her face go blank for a moment and I wondered what that was about.

"Are you feeling unwell?" I asked worried, but she just shook her head and answered:

"Don't worry." I decided to leave it at that for the moment and helped her into the carriage before I returned to Arion and mounted him.

When I took hold of the reins one of the servants handed to me I could feel her eyes on me and turned to look at her. I offered her a short smile and then I mentioned for our small group to start moving.

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><p>That's it for now, see you all next weekend, more or less ;)<p> 


	11. Charlton Park

Wow... sorry for the long pause, but LIFE has been hectic, still is :)

But here it is nonetheless. I hope you enjoy it.

Have a great week

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><p>"How do you feel?" I asked two days later once we reached an inn and I helped Mary out of the carriage.<p>

"Tired and stiff." she answered. I could understand that. Two days sitting in a carriage not being able to move much, plus her mother talking without taking a breath in between. I had heard her going on about the wedding since we had left Hertfordshire.

"Only three more days." I tried to cheer her up and led her into the small inn.

"I cannot wait to see Charlton Park." she told me with an honest smile. I liked that, I wanted her to be excited to see her new home. After all we would spend most of our time there, except for the summer, which we would spend in London, if she wanted, that was.

"I am sure you will love it." I told her honestly and Mary smiled at that, even though that smile soon enough turned into a yawn.

"Time for you to get some rest." I smiled and walked towards the innkeeper to take care of our rooms for the night.

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><p>Finally, I thought, when we passed the familiar forest close to Charlton Park. I steered my horse closer to the carriage so I could talk to Mary who was sitting at the window.<p>

"As soon as we leave the forest you will be able to see Charlton Park." I told her and she sighed relieved. I could understand that, her mother and her sister had been quite stressful during the last days. Her father had been rather quiet, I wondered if that was his character or if something was on his mind.

At the moment, I could not find myself to care, I was too happy about the fact that I had my bride home with me.

"It is wonderful." Mary whispered, when Charlton Park came into view, interrupting my thoughts. I smiled, not only because of her words, but also because of her families reaction. Mrs. Bennet and Kitty obviously had not expected the beauty of Charlton Park, from what I could hear they were overwhelmed by the sight in front of them.

"I am glad you like it." I told Mary honestly watching her looking at the estate in awe. I had hoped she would like it.

"You were right with what you said about Pemberley." She finally said, turning to look at me. What I had said about Pemberley? I needed a moment, but not long after I understood what she meant. That Charlton Park was in my opinion much more beautiful than Pemberley.

I laughed, happy that she remembered such an unimportant fact from one of our many conversations.

"Of course I was."

We quickly closed the rest of the distance and stopped in front of the entrance. Servants were waiting for us and I handed one of them Arion's reins, before jumping from his back.

"Home…" I sighed and hurried over to the carriage to help Mary out of it. She placed her hand in mine and smiled shortly at me.

"Come with me, my mother wants to meet you." I was sure she couldn't wait to finally meet Mary. But I wanted her to meet Mary before she met the family, sure that she would adore Mary just as much as I did.

So I turned towards her family and said:

"The servants will show you to your rooms and my mother is looking forward to meeting all of you at dinner, but before that I will take Mary with me to meet her."

No one protested, which didn't surprise me so I turned back to Mary and led her through the entrance into the hallway.

I could feel her fidgeting with her hair while walking next to me. A clear sign that she was worried about something.

"What is worrying you?" I asked, which made her smile shortly, before her worried expression returned.

"What did your mother say when you told her that you want to marry me and not Camille?" So that was her worry, that my mother wouldn't like her. Understandable but completely unnecessary.

"She told me that she would accept every woman I thought was good enough for me. So you do not need to worry, she will accept you and more than that she will love you." I explained and saw her relax, that was good I didn't want her to worry about meeting my mother.

We entered my mother's favorite salon and she was sitting at the fireplace, as I had expected. When she saw us coming a big smile appeared on her face. She got up from her chair and hurried towards us.

"Ah Henry, you are back." I let go of Mary's arm to make a step towards her and give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Yes, it is good to see you too."

That seemed enough for her, she was more interested in Mary.

"So this is her?" she asked with a smile and turned towards Mary, who stiffened once more.

"It is an honor to meet you." Mary replied politely and curtsied. I smiled to myself knowing my mother wasn't too interested in those formalities.

I saw Mary's surprise when my mother laughed and answered:

"No need to be this formal, we will be a family very soon. Just call me Joana." My mother saw herself how overwhelmed Mary was by her friendliness, so she placed a hand on her shoulder and said:

"Henry, would you give us some time alone?" That surprised even me. I hadn't expected that. Alone? Why? I didn't want to leave Mary alone, especially when everything was so new to her. But I could see the resolve on my mother's face and I knew that she wouldn't take no for an answer. So I offered Mary an encouraging smile, before I left the salon and closed the door behind me.

Worried I stood in front of it. I hoped that they would get along. They were both very important to me and as we were going to live together, I wanted nothing more than for them to be friends.

Not able to stand still I started pacing in front of the door. How long could this conversation take? Not that long, at least I hoped.

At one point during my pacing I thought I heard a laugh from inside the room, but I wasn't sure.

After an eternity, at least it felt like it, the door finally opened and Mary, as well as my mother, reappeared.

"Is everything alright?" I asked worried and looked at Mary, but she looked quite happy. Upon hearing my question a smile appeared on her lips and she nodded.

"Yes, your mother is really nice." I sighed in relief and made a step towards them.

"How about you show her the mansion? There is a lot to see after all and it's still some time until dinner." My mother asked and I liked the idea, especially because it gave me the opportunity to spend some more time alone with my future wife.

"Sounds like a good idea to me, shall we then?" I asked and smiled down at her. She blushed once more and finally smiled shyly up at me, taking my arm I had offered to her.

"Have fun kids." My mother said, while I led Mary down the hallway, interested in what she would say to her new home.

"So what do you think?" I asked, once we finished our tour in the library of which I knew it would be her favorite place in the house.

Her eyes were big, while she was looking around the room. Obviously in awe. I had hoped that she would react like that.

"This is the most beautiful mansion I have ever seen." She finally said, her eyes roaming over the shelves inside the room. I knew that she would spend a lot of time in here, reading every single book there was.

"I am glad that you like it, as this is going to be your home from now on." I answered and stepped behind her. Slowly I placed my arms around her small shoulders and pulled her back against my chest. I could feel the shiver running through her body and smiled when she leaned against me with a little, content sigh. It felt wonderful being this close to her and I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling.

"Am I right that you are going to spend a lot of time in here?" I finally asked, close to her ear.

"Yes, of course. I mean I have never seen a library as big as this. There are so many books in here, more than I have ever seen before." I laughed at her words, as they were not really surprising to me.

"I hope you can spare some time for your husband."

"I think I can manage that." she replied with a little laugh and I soon joined her. I could not wait to be married to her.

"And if not. I just have to make you forget the books." I told her with a confident smile. I knew the effect I had on her and I would use it to keep her away from the books, if necessary. To prove my point I kissed her shoulder through the fabric of her dress.

"And I think you can manage that!" She answered with a breathless giggle.

"I am sure I can." I told her amused and just enjoyed holding her in my arms. Until I realized that it was time for dinner. Even though I didn't want to let go of her.

So I waited another moment until there was no time left to spare.

"I think it is almost time for dinner, if you want I can show you to your temporary room, so you can change." I felt Mary stiffen slightly in my arms. I smiled at that, as she obviously felt the same way.

"Yes, that would be wonderful." she finally answered and I let go of her. She let out a little disappointed sigh and looked up at me. There was no real reason to be disappointed, we would have more time together very soon.

That thought made me smile. I took hold of her hand and led her out of the library towards the room that would be hers until we were married.

It took her a few moments until she realized what my words meant because she asked:

"What do you mean with temporary?"

Her naivety didn't surprise me, I knew how innocent she was and that she had no experience with men whatsoever.

So I patiently explained to her:

"I thought it was obvious. This is only your room until we are married. Then you will have your personal rooms next to mine. My mother planned everything, the salon from which one door leads into my room and one into your room. But she is strict, she doesn't want you to see it before the marriage. She said something about it being a wedding gift." That was the truth, we had talked about it during the few days I had been at Charlton Park, before asking Mary for her hand.

My mother had been very strict about it, she had told me that under no circumstances was I allowed to show her the rooms before our marriage.

I watched her register my words and finally blush, which made me smile once again.

I stopped her in front of her room by saying:

"This is your room. I hope you like it, I will now go and change myself. But if you want I can pick you up in half an hour to escort you to the dinning room." I would take every chance to have her close to me and being alone with her. Even if it were only a few minutes.

"I would like that." She answered with a wonderful smile. Her expressive eyes were sparkling and she was once again standing much too close. I fought the urge to kiss her and failed only half. Because I gave her another kiss on the cheek and said, my voice slightly husky:

"Good, I see you very soon then." Then I quickly turned around and left before I did something I would regret later on.

I needed to talk to my mother again, to make sure that the wedding took place as soon as possible, otherwise I would probably die before the wedding ceremony.

I just wanted to be close to her, but I knew I could not, not until we were married and I had every right to touch her like I wanted since the very first moment I had seen her at Pemberley all those months ago.

I walked straight to my room and also freshened up a little. I put on a clean shirt, vest and jacket and shortly brushed my hair.

Then I looked around the room and smiled, I could not wait until Mary would be in here with me, or at least in the room right next to it. So that I could see her whenever I wanted, no matter what time.

Deciding that it was time to pick up Mary for dinner, I left my room again and made my way back to hers.

I knocked shortly and didn't need to wait long until Mary opened the door. And she looked gorgeous. Even more so than usual. Not only because of the perfect green dress she wore, that accented her womanly figure perfectly, but also because of her hair. She wore it down for the very first time, since I had known her. Her hair was much longer than I had expected. It almost reached her small waist and was completely straight. She had pulled a few strands of her hair back, but the most of it fell loosely over her small shoulders.

"I need one more moment to finish my hair. But you can come in and wait here, I promise it won't take long." She quickly told me and wanted to return to the mirror, but I stopped her by placing my hands on her shoulders. I could feel her soft hair on my hands and I knew that I wanted her to wear her hair like this more often.

"It looks good to me. Just leave it like this." I smiled and allowed myself to run my hand through her soft hair. I wondered how she could hide such beautiful hair all the time.

"But…" She started, I didn't let her finish though.

"No buts, I think it looks beautiful and I hope you wear it open more often." Once again her cheeks turned a light shade of red, which made me smile, knowing that I had won this one argument.

"Alright." She gave in.

"Good. We should go then." I took my hand from her hair and offered my arm to her. She placed her small hand on it and followed me out of the room.

"That color looks very good on you!" I said after a moment of looking at her in that beautiful green dress, with her hair down.

A moment she didn't say anything, obviously not used to getting compliments. I couldn't understand that so I waited patiently for her to say something.

"Thank you. Your mother gave it to me." she finally answered and that made me smile. I was incredibly relieved that they seemed to get along.

"So you two are getting along… that's good!"

She seemed just a relived as I was about my mother accepting her so easily. And I loved the smile on her face, knowing that she was happy here, in her new home … with me.

We reached one of the small dining rooms on the first floor of the mansion and I opened the door for us. My mother was already there, as well as Mary's family. They looked at us and I could see their surprise when their eyes fell on Mary. It seemed like they finally saw her the way I had seen her from the very first moment. As a beautiful, young Lady.

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><p>R &amp; R please :)<p> 


	12. Family Dinner

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

I just wanted to thank all of you for reading and reviewing the story, it really means a lot to me.

I am happy to share my story (or Henry's) with you.

As a Christmas gift, here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy and have fabulous Christmas!

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><p>As soon as Mary saw my mother, she let go of my arm and hurried towards her.<p>

"Thank you for the dress. It is really beautiful." She said, smiling genuinely. I could see the happiness in my mother's eyes. She obviously really liked Mary, which made me smile as well, when I walked closer to them.

"You are quite welcome my dear and you look wonderful, you should wear you hair like this more often." My mother smiled brightly and once again, Mary blushed. She needed to hear it more often. She was wonderful, but her own family had never told her. So I knew it was my responsibility now to show her just how perfect she was.

"Mary?" her younger sister asked in awe, her eyes wide with surprise.

I knew Mary good enough to see her stiffen, expecting the worst from her sister. So I quickly walked over to her and stood as close to her as possible without touching her, which would be very inappropriate and my mother would most definitely not like that.

She relaxed when she felt my presence close to her.

"Yes..." Mary sounded unsure.

"That is a really pretty dress, you are so lucky to have such a rich fiancé, now you will only wear dresses like this." Kitty continued and that did not surprise me. For her and her mother money was the most important thing. For many people actually. Therefore, I was more than glad about Mary being so different. She could not care less about my money, or the title.

However, I saw how uncomfortable Mary felt when her sister said that, still fearing that my mother or I would change our minds about her. She needed to understand that she could not control other people. No matter what someone from her family said, it would never change how I saw her and what I thought about her.

So I placed a hand on the small of her back, for which I received a disapproving glare from my mother. I did not care though, so I left my hand where it was and said:

"How about dinner? I am sure we are all very hungry!"

Kitty actually clapped her hands at that and smiled up at me with the same admiration Camille had done. Even though she knew just as little about me, as she had done.

"Yes…" she exclaimed happily. I did not look at her though. Instead, I turned to look at Mary and saw that she was frowning at her sister.

"Are you coming?" I asked with a smile.

"Yes." She hurried to say and followed the others to the table who had already sat down.

I was grateful that my mother, despite the common decencies, had arranged everyone's seats so that I was sitting next to Mary. I offered her a smile for this and she just nodded her head shortly, acknowledging my thanks.

After we sat down as well and the first course arrived, Mrs. Bennet addressed my mother.

"We are very grateful for your generous offer to let us stay here until my dear Mary is married." I bit back a laugh, when Mary stared at her mother, obviously shocked by her words. It was somehow sad though, that the daughter she had always complained about and belittled was now her obvious favorite just because she was engaged to someone with a lot of money.

My mother smiled an empty smile and answered.

"You don't have to thank us Mrs. Bennet, we are happy to have you here." She had practice in being polite, even when she did not feel like it. I knew her well enough though to see the truth in her eyes. She did not like Mrs. Bennet, probably for the same reason I didn't. Because she treated Mary so badly.

Only moments later, she proved my opinion about her right.

"I still cannot believe it, that my Mary is marrying an Earl. I always thought Jane would be so lucky, but in comparison to your house, her mansion looks rather small. I think it is really astonishing and may I ask you the question why, as I still don't understand it." Mary blushed and looked uncomfortably at the empty plate in front of her.

How could Mrs. Bennet ask this question? Had she no idea how it made Mary feel, or was it just that she did not care? For her sake, I hoped for the first possibility because if I ever found out that she hurt her intentionally I would hold her responsible for it.

I would not lower myself to her level, which was the reason for me to smile nicely and answer.

"I am surprised that you even have to ask that Mrs. Bennet, you of all people should know of Mary's amenities."

"Of course…." Mrs. Bennet replied, her cheeks bright red with embarrassment. It was obvious that she now was frantically thinking about what amenities I was talking about.

"So, how do you like the mansion?" My mother changed the topic once the second course arrived. Everyone started eating and after a short moment. Mary's younger sister decided to tell us what she thought, her mouth still full of fish.

"It is beautiful… I have never seen anything like this!" Mary sighed quietly to my right and I could understand that it was difficult for her to sit here and watch her family embarrass themselves and her too.

Without thinking about it, I placed my hand on her knee to squeeze it a little and assure her, that I would not change my mind no matter what her family did.

I was glad that my mother could not see my hand, nor her father who sat at the end of the table. If one of them could. They would want my hand for this too intimate touch. But I could not care less. Especially when Mary turned to look at me and smiled gratefully.

The moment ended much too soon because one of the maids took the rest of the fish away and at the same time put the plate with the chocolate dessert down in front of us. I took my hand from her knee and returned my focus to the food in front of me, even if just to distract myself from the idea of touching her again.

I did not even pay attention when my mother and Mary shortly talked about the dessert; I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts.

"I am sure everyone is very tired from the travel and the next few weeks will be hectic with the planning of the wedding, so I think it would be a good idea to retire for today." My mother finally concluded and smiled at everyone. I smiled as well, as it meant I could spend a few more moments alone with Mary before we had to separate for the night.

"That is a wonderful idea." Mrs. Bennet agreed. That didn't surprise me. She would agree to everything my mother or I had to say. My thoughts immediately returned to the day I asked for Mary's hand, when she had said I could have her.

The only thing that mattered to her was power and money and my family had both, which made us perfect in her eyes.

"Then it is settled, Mary I would like a word with you, so would it be alright, if I accompany you to your room?" I could not believe my ears when I heard my mother say that. She wanted to accompany Mary to her room? But that meant I could not AND I had to take her family to their rooms.

How could she do this to me? She should have known that I wanted to be with her as much as possible.

I gave her look that told her just how unhappy I was with her decision and that I would talk with her about this later. But I did not say anything. I would accept my fate, for the moment. I would not allow it to happen ever again, though.

So I gave Mary a long tender look, before my mother took her from me and led her out of the room.

That left me with her family.

"If you follow me." I told them, trying to be as polite as possible and not showing how frustrated I was.

"Of course." Kitty hurried to say and was by my side in a heartbeat. I shook my head with a smile. This reaction was typical for women. But I did not want this reaction from anyone than my future wife.

So I led them out of the room without saying something.

"The mansion is beautiful. Maybe you could show me around tomorrow." Mary's sister said; she did not give up, even though I had shown her that I had not the slightest interest in her. Besides, I was engaged to her sister, should not that stop her from making any kind of advances? Obviously I was wrong and I needed to be a little more blunt, even if not too much, as I did not want to offend anyone.

"I don't think I will have time for that. I will be working, besides if I have some free time, I will of course spend it with my fiancé." I told her with a pointed look and even if she did not understand it, her father did.

"That is enough Kitty."

"But father…" she tried; her father did not let her finish though.

"No but… you will stop acting like a spoiled child." he told her with a serious expression on his face.

Even though it was the truth, I felt bad for Kitty, she was very young after all and so it was alright for her to act in such a way…sometimes.

Before they had the chance to fight, I interrupted them by saying:

"This is your room Miss Bennet." She thanked me shortly, obviously sulking because of her father's words.

I nodded and continued to show Mr. And Mrs. Bennet to their room. After I had said my goodbyes to both of them, I walked back through the mansion to my room in the other wing of the mansion.

I closed the door behind myself and sighed deeply. For a moment, I actually thought about going to my mother's room to talk to her about the events after dinner and why she had taken Mary to her room. But I was exhausted, so this would wait until the morning.

With a yawn, I undressed and put on a comfortable pair of cotton pants, before I lay down in my bed.

Thinking of my upcoming wedding and the woman sleeping only a few rooms away from me, I finally fell asleep.


	13. This Kiss

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone.

Sorry for the delay, but the new year started pretty hectic for little old me :)

I'll try to update more often now.

So now, Ladies and Gentlemen, here is the next chapter (Even though I think there are few to no male readers to this story ;))

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><p>I woke only a few hours later and found myself not tired anymore. I knew that it was still very early and everyone else would probably still be asleep.<p>

But after a few minutes of tossing and turning, I knew that I would not be able to fall asleep again.

So I got up, washed myself and got dressed before I left my room. Silently I walked through the dark hallway. I did not need any light; I knew every hall in here better than anyone else did. I found my way around, even in the dark.

I finally reached my goal, which was the library. The room was also dark. I quickly started a fire in the fireplace and lit half a dozen candles, so I had enough light to read. I grabbed a book from the shelf and sat down next to the fireplace. Enjoying the silence for a moment. As soon as everyone else woke, it would be over with the calm atmosphere.

I was half through the book when I heard the door opening, followed by soft steps. When I looked up, I smiled because it was Mary who had entered the library.

That meant we had still some time alone until it was time for breakfast.

She had not seen me yet, too focused on all the books inside the room.

"Why are you up already?" I asked and she turned to look at me. She looked beautiful. Her hair fell open over her shoulders and was slightly ruffled. She only wore her sleeping gown and a soft blue dressing gown over it.

I could get used to seeing her like this, I thought with a smile when she came closer to me.

"I couldn't sleep anymore and you?" she asked and sat down in front of me.

"Me neither, how did you sleep?" I answered, looking into her dark eyes.

"Very good."

"That's good, so what did my mother want to tell you?" I remembered the reason I had not brought her to her room the night before. Interested in her answer I leaned a little closer to her, so that my arms were resting on my knees while I never broke our eye contact.

"My father obviously thinks that I don't want to marry you for the right reasons. He thinks I only agreed to do it, because of my mother's influence and your title. He told your mother of his concern and she told me."

I bit back a curse. I should have taken more time to talk to Mr. Bennet and explain to him exactly why Mary and I wanted to marry. Then this would not have happened. I just hoped that my mother did not believe him and now changed her mind about Mary.

"She doesn't believe him, does she?" I asked alarmed. When I saw Mary smile at my question however, I knew that everything was all right.

"No. She just wanted to tell me, so I can talk to my father and convince him otherwise."

"Good." I smiled and sighed in relief.

For a moment no one of us said something, which gave me the chance to look at her again. She was gorgeous and I had to tell her.

"You leek very pretty." I smiled, knowing that she was not used to compliments. She blushed dark crimson at my words and seemed to realize just now, what she was wearing. Self-consciously she tugged her dressing gown tighter around herself. I could not help but laugh at her reaction.

"No need to blush. I really mean it. You look very pretty; besides, we are going to be married in a matter of weeks, so it isn't all that inappropriate to see you like this." I told her honestly, at which she bit her lip. Still self-conscious.

"I can't help it when you look at me like that." she told me shyly and that made my heart beat faster. I knew that it was difficult for her to be this open with me. This was why I enjoyed it even more.

"I like that!" I answered and raised my hand to touch her slightly red cheek. She closed her eyes and a small sigh escaped her lips before she asked:

"Really?"

"Of course. It shows just how wrong your father is and that we are getting married for the only reason that counts." And I felt so lucky that it was the truth. That I had finally found someone like her.

"You are right." she smiled and looked happier than I had ever seen her. I liked to see her like this. To know that she was just as happy about our engagement, as I was.

Instead of telling her about my thoughts, I put on an arrogant smile and said:

"Of course I am." That made her smile. A beautiful smile that made her dark eyes sparkle.

"I love it, when you smile like this." I said and brushed a strand of loose hair out of her face.

"I can't help it, when I'm with you." she told me and her cheeks turned an even darker shade of red, after she realized what she had just said.

My smile grew even more, though there was one thing even more important. And it was the need to kiss her. I knew I needed to wait, but I could not and this was the perfect moment. We were alone and no one would find out about it. This meant that it would do no harm to her reputation and I could show her just how strongly I felt for her.

"That's good." I said and leaned closer to her. When I laid my lips on her perfect, pink ones, she froze for a short moment. But after a few seconds, she placed her hands on my shoulders and returned my kiss. I pushed my hand through her long hair to her neck, where it rested tenderly against her soft skin.

I did not want to stop kissing her, but with every touch of our lips, it was harder for me to stop and I knew that I needed to stop. Therefore, I slowly withdrew from her, even though it was the most difficult thing I had done in my life.

Instead of pulling away completely, I leaned my forehead against hers and enjoyed the closeness between us. She was slightly out of breath and I liked that.

For a moment, no one said something until a soft smile appeared on her lips and she whispered:

"Wasn't that very inappropriate?"

Of course, I remembered my words from a few days before, when we had been in her room in Wiltfordshire.

"I think so." I agreed with a small smile, but I could not care less. For that, it had been too perfect. That was the reason I continued by saying:

"But it would have killed me if I had waited any longer."

Amused, I watcher her blush even darker and search for the right words to say. As she obviously could not find them, I asked:

"Are you still not tired?"

"Yes, why?" She asked surprised, while an idea was forming in my head. The sun would rise soon enough and I had wanted to show her the rose garden anyway. But it was the most beautiful at Sunrise.

So if she was not tired, we could go and see it. That also meant more time I could spend with her.

"Because there is something I would like to show you. If you want." I told her, so that she did not feel obligated to say yes.

But her answer was just like I had hoped.

She smiled brightly and said:

"Of course I want."

"Good." I grinned and got up, even if it meant pulling away from her completely. I offered her my hand though, to help her up from the chair. She took it and as soon as she stood, I said:

"I will take you to your room. You have to get dressed first." I did not let go of her hand, instead I used it to lead her out of the library and back to her room. As I was already dressed, we stopped in front of her door and I said:

"I will wait here. Just come out, when you are ready."

She nodded and quickly disappeared into the room. I watched the door close behind her and sighed deeply.

It was getting more and more difficult for me to be in her presence without being able to touch her. I knew that she only deserved the best, which was why I fought my needs, but my patience was coming to an end. I was not willing though to stay away from her until we were married.

This meant I had to suffer for a while longer, but I knew she was worth it.

That thought was proven right, when the door opened and Mary walked out again. She wore a simple dark blue dress that highlighted her pale complexion. I could not help but smile, when I saw that she had not pulled her hair back, even though she had dressed. That meant she had remembered my words from the night before, that I preferred to see her hair like this. And I did. It was stunning. But I loved the fact that she did this to please me.

"Ready to go?" I asked and took hold of her small, soft hand.

"Yes." she smiled a beautiful smile before following me down the hall and into the entrance hall.

Where are we going?" she finally asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"You will see when we get there. It is my favorite place." I answered and opened the front door. The sky was turning a slight shade of grey, which meant the sun would come up soon. So we needed to hurry, otherwise the sun would be up by the time we reached the garden.

"We should go and take my horse. If we walk, we won't be back in time for breakfast and I am sure neither your family nor my mother would like that very much." I said, after I thought some more about it.

I was sure that my mother did not like me to spend so much time with her, alone. She knew me better than anyone else after all and also my patience, when it came to Mary.

Mary nodded and that was enough for me. I quickly let go of her hand and hurried into the stables to get Arion.

I saddled him and led him out of the stables, holding his reins.

Mary was still waiting outside of the stables and looked slightly intimidated. I wondered for a moment why she would be scared, until I stopped next to her and she eyed Arion warily.

"Maybe we should walk after all." She said in a low voice. That surprised me so much, that I could not help but laugh. She was afraid of Arion.

"Don't worry. Arion is a nice horse. Besides, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." I told her seriously. There was no need for her to be afraid, besides Arion was a very calm horse.

I saw that she believed me but that she also was scared. So I made a step closer and said:

"Come." Mary nodded and made the last step towards Arion, so that she could touch him. Which she did not.

I stepped behind her and placed my hands around her waist. I was surprised by how light she was, when I lifted her onto Arion's back.

I heard her gasp and saw her take hold of Arion's mane. Obviously scared.

So I quickly climbed onto his back as well and placed my arm around her small waist. When I pulled her back flush against my chest. She relaxed immediately and I smiled. Because I felt exactly the same way. It was wonderful to feel her close to me.

When Arion started moving, Mary froze again, taking hold on my arm around her waist. As if she was afraid to fall off Arion's back. She should know better than that. I would never let her fall.

I could not help but chuckle and tease her a little:

"You aren't a very skilled rider, are you?"

"No. To be honest I have never sat on the back of a horse. It just was not necessary until now. When we left the house we always took the carriage and when I decided to go somewhere on my own. Well, I walked." She answered still holding onto my arm, while we were getting close to the rose garden.

"I think we should change that. I am sure you'll enjoy horse riding as soon as you got over your fear." I told her and she nodded slowly, obviously deep in her thoughts.

I finally steadied Arion at the entrance of the rose garden and jumped off his back.

Mary looked at the garden with wide eyes, when I wrapped my hands around her waist and lifted her off Arion's back.

Carefully I placed her down in front of me and she smiled up at me, which made it impossible to take my hands off of her. She obviously felt the same way because not long after I felt her small hands touching my chest through the fabric of my shirt.

For a very long moment we just stood there looking into each other's eyes, while, at the same time, I was fighting with my inner demons. As they wanted to pull her even closer and kiss her again.

But I could not do that here. Servants could see us and they would start talking, I could not do that to her.

That was the only reason I was able to say:

"We should go inside and not stay here forever." My hand slid from her waist to the small of her back and I steered her softly towards the gate.

* * *

><p>What do you think ? R&amp;R please<p>

Until next time :)


	14. Mr Bennet

Enjoy!

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><p>The sun came up at the exact same moment, when we walked through the maze. And the garden looked just as beautiful as I remembered.<p>

I lead Mary through the maze until we reached the center.

The small pond with water lilies on it made Mary sigh quietly. I had hoped that she would like it.

With a smile I led her over to the bench that was nestled in between the rose hedges.

"It is beautiful!" Mary exclaimed once we had sat down.

"That is why I wanted to show you this place. I was certain you would like it." I told her and placed my arm around her small shoulders.

She leaned her head against my shoulder and closed her eyes. As soon as she did that I turned my attention towards her. She looked so content and happy, that made my heart sore.

I wanted nothing more than to see her happy because, even when I hadn't known in the very beginning, I was sure now that I loved her.

That thought made me smile. It was the first time that I had been this honest with myself. I always had known that I cared deeply for her and that I wanted to make her happy. But the reason hadn't been like or even the passion I felt for her. It was love and that made me happier than anything else. As it meant that we would be happy for the rest of our lives. In my eyes there was nothing more important than love.

I watched Mary now with a new perspective and I couldn't help the smile forming on my face.

But Mary didn't look that happy. She had furrowed her brows and was biting her lip, like she always did when she thought very hard. Something was bothering her and I needed to know what.

"You look worried. Is everything alright?" She opened her eyes and looked at me, obviously shocked that I knew something was bothering her.

"Why did you choose me?" she asked after some time. And I shook my head at that question. Did she really not know?

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked back, but she just shook her head. So she really didn't know how wonderful she was. Well, it was probably time to let her know then.

"There is a number of reasons." I started and turned towards her, so I could look into her eyes. I took her face into my hands and continued:

"The first thing I noticed about you was your passion for books. When I walked into the salon at Pemberley I saw you sitting in that chair completely lost in your book. Oblivious to the rest of the world. I have never seen a woman so passionate about something. That was the moment I knew that I needed to talk to you. So I did. The next thing that attracted my attention was your face when you looked up. You looked so surprised when I talked to you. Like you would expect me to run away any moment. Which was highly unlikely as all I wanted was to spend more time with you. So we did. I visited you at Pemberley and soon enough you warmed up to me. You told me about your dreams, your passion for books, even about your family. And with each new information I got, I knew that I would never be satisfied with my knowledge about you. I want to know every little detail that is you. I want to know your thoughts before you speak them, and most of all I want to make you happy. You should know, that you are smart, ingenious, kind hearted and honest. There is no reason for you to be insecure. Because from the moment you looked up from your book at Pemberley I was mesmerized by your beauty. Your fair complexion, which is a stunning contrast to your dark hair and your deep brown eyes. I could look at you and be content with just doing that. I think it is time someone tells you. Because you obviously don't know how desirable you are and that only a fool would look at you and didn't want you to become his wife."

Mary's cheeks had turned more red with each word I had spoken. She looked completely overwhelmed by my honesty and I was petrified when I noticed the tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry." I pleaded as the tears started to roll down her pale cheeks. I wiped them off one by one and felt horrible for making her cry.

"I never meant to make you cry." I told her honestly, still fighting with her tears that wouldn't stop pouring down her face.

"It's alright. It's just that no one ever said something like this to me." she sniffed and I felt so bad for her. That no one had ever told her those things.

To calm her a little, I pulled her into my arms so that she could lean her head against my chest. I slowly caressed her back and whispered soothing words into her soft hair. The tears drenched my dress shirt, but I couldn't care less. I just wanted to be there for her and calm her.

After some time the tears stopped falling and also her shoulders didn't shake anymore. She stayed in my embrace a little longer though, which I enjoyed all the more. Because it showed me once again how much she actually liked being close to me.

Finally she sat up and I let her go, even if I would have liked to hold her a while longer.

She wiped the last remaining tears from her face and offered me a soft smile.

"I'm sorry."

"Never apologize. That is not necessary." Not when it had to do with something like this. With her family not treating her like she deserved to be treated. I brushed a strand of hair away from her face and enjoyed the intimate moment for a while until I realized that it was time for us to return to the house. My mother would be up by now.

"We should head back. I am sure it is almost time for breakfast."

"I also need to talk to my father." Mary nodded and got up. I did the same and we walked back through the maze to my horse.

Once more I helped her onto the back and hoisted myself up behind her. I wrapped my arm around her middle and smiled, when she relaxed against me, even when I steered Arion towards the house.

Within Moments we were back at the entrance. The servants were awake now and one of them hurried over to us to take care of Arion. Meanwhile I jumped from his back and helped Mary down as well.

I looked at the sky and saw the sun standing high. It was pretty warm and I was sure that my mother would use this weather for a breakfast outside.

"The weather is good. I am sure we will find my mother on the terrace." I told Mary and even though I wanted to take her hand again, I refrained from doing so and just offered her my arm, as it was custom.

She placed her hand on it and we walked back into the house, through one of the salons towards the terrace. My mother was sitting right outside under a big parasol and next to her Mr. Bennet. This was the perfect moment for Mary to talk to her father.

When we walked closer both looked up from their teacups.

"Good Morning." Mary greeted both of them, while I just nodded shortly.

"Good Morning dear, I hope you rested well." My mother greeted Mary, she nodded as an answer before turning towards her father.

"Father, would you mind walking with me a little?" He looked surprised, but only for a short moment, before he agreed. He got up and bowed shortly to my mother and me, before they walked towards the park.

I watched them with a smile, before taking my seat next to my mother. From her expression I could tell that she wasn't happy about something.

"Where were you?" she asked, giving me a pointed look over her teacup.

"What do you mean?" I asked back, taking a few of the grapes of the plate in front of me.

"I went to Mary's room this morning to wake her and you can imagine my surprise when she wasn't there. And not only she wasn't in her room, so was my son. So where were you?"

I bit back a smile, while I continued to eat. I knew that my mother wasn't happy about me spending time alone with Mary. But I couldn't care less.

So I just shrugged my shoulders and said:

"I showed her the rose garden."

"But what if people see you alone? What will they think?"

Aggravated I turned to look at my mother.

"I don't care what they think. Besides, we will be married in a matter of weeks. So in my eyes it is not inappropriate that I want to spend some time with my fiancé. That the society sees it differently is the furthest of my concerns. I know that you cannot understand how difficult it is to stay away from her, as you never had those feelings for father, but I won't stay away from her until our wedding, so you better get used to it."

For a moment my mother looked shocked, at a loss for words.

I didn't like to talk to her like that, but this was a situation in which I had to because I would allow no one to get in between Mary and I.

After some time my mother sighed deeply and said:

"You are right. I never felt like this. But I don't want the society to talk bad about Mary. I care about her and they can be cruel, you know that. So just be careful with Mary's feelings, I don't want her to get hurt."

I hated it when she was right and she was in this situation. But that didn't mean that I would keep my distance from Mary, it would just mean that I had to be more cautious of our surroundings.

"I will do everything to protect her." I promised and meant every word. My mother knew that of course. She nodded, half pleased and returned to eating her breakfast.

I did the same and after I had finished, I heard footsteps and loud voices. The voices announced the appearance of Mrs. Bennet und Kitty, long before we could actually see them.

When they finally came into view, they reacted as I had expected. The both curtsied deeply, before Kitty hurried to take the seat right next to mine.

"Good morning, my lord!"

"Good Morning, Miss Bennet. Mrs. Bennet." I greeted them both.

"My room is really wonderful. It is much bigger than the room I had when we stayed at Pemberley." Kitty started explaining to me. I just nodded politely and waited for the moment when Mary and her father returned hoping that everything would be alright.

When I finally saw them coming, I excused myself and hurried over to them. Mr. Bennet looked serious when he walked past me and said:

"If you have some time later on. I would like to talk to you."

"Of course. We can go to my study after we finished breakfast." I answered a little taken aback. What did he want to talk about? He looked very serious.

"Don't worry. Everything is alright now. He knows everything." Mary reassured me, while her father sat at down at the breakfast table.

With a smile I thought about everything we had done the last couple of hours and I was sure that she hadn't told her father about that.

"Everything?" I asked with a smile, raising an eyebrow. I received the reaction I had expected. She blushed dark crimson and answered:

"Well, obviously not EVERYTHING!"

With that she returned to the table as well and sat down between my and her mother.

I followed them and not long after they started talking about the wedding, which I liked because it meant that the wedding would take place as soon as they had finished the planning.

"Are you finished with your breakfast?" I asked Mr. Bennet and he nodded. "If you follow me then." I said and lead him away from the women through the house to my study that was located at the east side of the mansion.

I closed the door behind us.

"You want to take a seat?" I offered, unsure of what to expect from Mary's father. I hadn't talked much to him yet, so I didn't know what kind of person he was.

"There is one thing I want to make perfectly clear…" Mr. Bennet started as soon as he had sat down and I had taken my seat across from him.

"And that would be?" I asked amused, leaning back in my chair.

"I don't appreciate how you courted my daughter, or that you spent so much time with her alone. She deserves better than that. But I am willing to forget it because of two reasons, the first being that you did the honorable thing and asked her to marry you and second that she obviously likes you."

For a moment I was surprised by his forwardness and honesty. But it didn't take long for me to understand it all the more.

He was worried about his daughter and if Mary had been my daughter, I wouldn't want any man to behave like I had.

So I nodded and sat up straight.

"I apologize for my behavior, but I promise you that I never had bad intentions. From the very first moment, I knew that I wanted her to be my wife. And I can assure you that I will spend the rest of my life to make her happy."

Mr. Bennet looked at me, for a very long time. He didn't say anything. I had the feeling he was trying to look right into my soul.

I didn't know what he saw, but he obviously was satisfied with it because he nodded slowly and said:

"Good, it is obvious that you have feelings for her as well and to be honest that is a big relief for me. I was worried of what Mary had to expect, when being your wife. But it seems all my worries were unnecessary."

"They were… and they are." I smiled and felt a respect for him I hadn't felt for any man in a long time. He was a very honest person and that was something I liked.

"There is only one other thing." Mr. Bennet interrupted my thoughts and I turned my attention back to him.

"Go ahead."

"If you ever hurt Mary, I guarantee you that you will regret it. I don't care about your title or your influence, I will make you pay. Do you understand that?"

My respect grew even further when I understood just how much he cared about Mary and what he was willing to do to ensure her happiness.

"I give you my word, that won't be necessary."

"Good." Mr. Bennet nodded, looking relieved. He was obviously happy about my reaction. And he was lucky that he had told me what he had and no one else. Most other men would have felt offended and would be angry because of his words.

"Would you like a drink?" I offered because he looked a little pale. It was still early, but he looked like he could need something.

"Yes, that would be wonderful." he told me with a smile and I had the feeling that after this conversation we had the chance of becoming good friends.


	15. Moments

Something new for all of you who have read the Prequel, because these scenes haven't been in the original :)

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Finally." I sighed and left my study after discussing business with one of our tenants. He had claimed it was more than important. So I had missed dinner for it, only to find out that it hadn't been that important.<p>

But before I could go to bed, I wanted to see Mary. I hadn't seen her all day. I had been working and she had been talking about our wedding wit my mother and her mother. At least that was what she had told me.

So I made my way through the already pretty quiet mansion and hoped that Mary wasn't asleep yet.

I reached her door and shortly looked if I was alone in the hallway, before knocking. Nothing moved behind the door, or at least I could hear nothing. Did that mean that she was asleep? I knocked again, hoping to be wrong and I was because I heard her voice, even though she sounded tired.

"Yes?"

I opened the door and walked into the room. Mary sat on her bed and looked like she would fall asleep any minute. Despite her exhaustion she smiled at me.

I closed the door behind myself and walked over to where she sat.

"You look tired." I smiled and took a seat next to her.

"I am. All this planning is really exhausting." she told me and stifled a yawn.

"I am sorry." I said and took her hand. My mother could be quite exhausting if she wanted to be.

"You don't have to be. Just a few weeks, then the planning is over. And you are going through so much more trouble with my family, then I can handle a little planning." She answered with a small smile and I returned that smile. Mostly because I couldn't wait for those weeks to be over and her being my wife.

But not all members of her family were difficult and to reassure her I said:

"I actually like part of your family."

"Who?" she asked, obviously surprised by my words.

"Your father."

"But he is… Mr. Darcy doesn't like him. Because he thinks he is too outspoken and at times insulting." Of course Fitzwilliam Darcy would think like that. Because he didn't like to be questioned or told what to do. Mr. Bennet could be insulting, and he had been very outspoken with me, but despite what Mr. Darcy liked, I appreciated honesty.

"Well, I am not Mr. Darcy." I told her and kissed her cheek. I hadn't intended on doing so, but her utter confusion was so adorable that my body had moved without my knowledge.

"I know that." she said breathlessly, her cheeks dark crimson.

"And I really like your father. I like his honesty." I told her, which made her furrow her brows.

"What did he say to you?" Of course she knew that it had been because of our conversation earlier.

"He warned me." I told her and chuckled, remembering our conversation. "He told me that if I ever hurt you. I would be sorry. That he doesn't care about my title or my money. He would find a way to pay me back."

When I finished my explanation Mary looked absolutely petrified. There was no reason for this, but before I could tell her exactly that, she gasped:

"God, I am so sorry." She withdrew her hand from mine and clasped her hands together in her lap, like she always did when she felt guilty for something. She lowered her eyes to her hands, not meeting my mine.

I shook my head at that. What did she think how I would react? Blame her? It was her father who had said these things, so even if I had felt offended by what he said, I would never blame her.

So I took hold of her chin and raised her head until she had to look me in the eyes.

"Don't be. I can understand him. Besides, I like his honesty! No need to apologize." I told her, but she still didn't look convinced, so I continued:

"Never apologize for something you have no control over. Your father said it, he is the only one responsible for his actions. May they be good or bad. You need to understand, that no matter what your family does. I will never be angry with you."

I could see the relief in her eyes and smiled at that. She obviously understood that I would never be angry with her for things that her family did.

When she looked at me with bright eyes, I had difficulties to think clearly. All I wanted was to kiss her. But in her room, with no one coming to interrupt us in the next hours it would be dangerous to do so because I had the feeling that I couldn't stop myself, if I started now.

So I quickly got up, before I lost my inner battle and said:

"I should probably go." She didn't make it any easier on me, when she got up as well and asked:

"Really?" She sounded just as disappointed as I felt. I obviously needed to be honest with her, or as honest as I could be with her being so innocent.

"Yes. Our mothers won't like it to find me here, besides I don't know how much longer I can act like I care what's appropriate." To bid my goodbye, I gave her a short kiss on her forehead and left the room, leaving her behind.

But I knew it was the right thing to do, even when my whole body screamed to go back.

I ignored this urge though and returned to my room, where I would also try to find some sleep.

* * *

><p>I looked out of the window and sighed deeply. Three weeks until our marriage and it felt like I would lose my mind until then.<p>

I heard Mary playing the piano behind me and my mother happily chatting with her. That was their routine for many days now. After breakfast they came to this salon to play cards, talk or play the piano. The rest of the time Mary was occupied with preparations for the wedding.

So I barely saw her. When I wanted to see her, I had to come to the salon as well. Like I had done this morning.

I had no important business to attend to, which gave me the freedom to enjoy her play the piano and just look at her.

I turned around and looked at my fiancé, sitting at the piano completely oblivious to my inner turmoil.

That made me smile, despite my frustration.

My mother was more observant.

"Oh… I completely forgot, there is this… letter I have to finish. I will get to it right away. I see you later." with a small smile and a wink at me, she got up and left the room. She had accepted by now that sometimes I needed to be alone with Mary.

So I was very grateful for her exit.

Mary had stopped playing and looked a little confused, which I could understand, my mother's excuse hadn't been the smoothest one.

But I couldn't care less.

I was finally alone with her again. For the first time in almost a week and I had missed being alone with her.

With a smile I walked over to the piano and sat down on the piano bench close to her.

"You know, I always wanted to learn how to play." I told her honestly. But I never had found the time to learn how to play.

"Really?" she asked with a breathtaking smile and slightly red cheeks, which probably had to do with our closeness.

"Yes, so maybe you can teach me." I said and placed my hands on the cool keys of the piano.

"Of course, if you want." she nodded and followed my example.

"So? How do we start?" I asked interested and moved even closer, so that our bodies were touching. That was the kind of lesson I could get used to, I thought with a smile.

* * *

><p>I was writing a business letter, when my door opened. As soon as I saw my mother storming into the room, I knew that something was wrong. Her face was red and she looked angrier than I had seen her in a long time.<p>

"Mother?" I asked confused and got up from my chair.

"This insolent man, how dare he?" she fumed and I understood not one word. Who was she talking about?

"Mother?" I asked again and she turned to look at me.

"He dared to insult her. In my house, in our house, in my presence, can you believe that?" I had a bad feeling about this. Who did she mean?

"He? Her?"

"Mary, who else…" Mother told me, looking like she thought I was stupid. My own anger boiled immediately. Who had dared to insult her in my house?

"Who?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"This James Henceforth, you know him he…" of course I knew him. The man who had wanted to marry my Mary to replace his dead wife. The man who was twice her age. But what was he doing here?

"What did he say?" I asked though. I needed to know, even though I had the feeling I would lose it, if she told me.

"That our Mary, our perfect, wonderful Mary, is vulgar and repulsive, that she is plain and her mind just the same… I…"

I didn't need to know more. I needed to talk to this man, before he could leave.

So I turned around and stormed from the room without letting my mother finish her words.

Angry I strode down the hallway and found a servant close to the entrance door.

"Where do I find Mr. Henceforth?"

"He left, my lord." the graying man told me and I cursed under my breath.

"When?"

"A few moments ago." he sounded shocked, which I could understand usually I wasn't the type to show my anger this open. The servants had never seen me like this, but how could I not react like this afterwhat he had said?

"Good." I smiled coldly and hurried past him. I quickly entered the stables and saddled Arion. Then I climbed onto his back and sped through the yard and down the path that lead through the grounds of Charlton Park. There was only this one path to leave the estate and I knew that I could catch him in time before he left the grounds.

I was running Arion harder than I had ever done and soon enough I saw a rider ahead of me. He was not riding very fast, so within minutes I had gained upon him.

He realized at one point that someone was following him.

And when I was close enough it seemed that he recognized me. His eyes became big and he stopped his horse.

When I steadied Arion's wild gallop, he tried to baulk, but I was a skilled rider and stopped him by using the muscles of my legs against his sides. After Arion calmed down considerably, I turned to look at James Henceforth. The man who had dared to insult my Mary.

"My mother told me about your visit." I said, sounding more calm than I felt.

"I figured as much. After our meeting a few weeks ago, I thought you would be smarter. But exchanging a woman like Miss Camille against someone like Mary."

He sounded just as snobbish, as I remembered and I wanted to punch him, but I knew what that would lead to.

So I steered Arion closer and growled.

"You should better be really careful with your next words, they might be your last."

"Are you threatening me?" he asked surprised.

"Very good! You understood it then."

"How dare you…" I didn't let him continue though, how dare ME?

"How dare YOU coming into my house and insulting my fiancé? Do you have no decency, or was your ego bruised? To be quite honest, I cannot find myself to care what excuse you might have. What you did was unforgivable. How can you use those words with someone as perfect as Mary? The king will of course hear of this, as I know my mother, she is already writing a letter. You can name yourself lucky that I will leave it at words, this time. But if I ever see you near my soon-to-be wife again, I will do more than just use words. I will make you regret ever meeting her or me, for that matter. Did I make myself clear?"

I was quite satisfied that Mr. Henceforth paled at my words. So I finally got to him. When he didn't say anything, I leaned a little closer and asked, my voice deadly:

"Did I?"

"Yes…" he answered, sounding frustrated.

"Good, then I want you to leave my land right now, before I change my mind." He obviously understood what was best for him because he ran his horse and distanced himself from me.

I watched him for a moment until I made my way back to the house, still shaking with anger.

If I ever met that man again, he would regret ever meeting me, that was for sure.

But at the moment, all I wanted was to talk to Mary.

She would be in a complete turmoil, which was understandable thinking what this horrible man had said.

As soon as I reached the mansion, I jumped from Arion's back and handed the reins to one of the servants. After that I quickly made my way into the mansion and to the salon where Mary and my mother spent their mornings.

And I was right, Mary was still there. Sitting on one of the lounges, even paler than usual.

She looked up when she heard me entering. I smiled at her and closed the door behind myself.

"You heard…?" she asked, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment. There was no reason for her to be embarrassed in the first place. The horrible man should be.

"Of course. And I am sorry." I said and walked over to where she was sitting. I knelt down in front of her and took her hands in mine.

"Sorry, for what?"

"For not being here when this man said those horrible things to you."

"It was not your fault, who knew that he would come here and start insulting me." Mary smiled and looked me directly in the eye, which made me smile as well.

"I know. It was just as much my fault, as it was yours, so you have no reason to feel ashamed." I told her honestly and she looked surprised for a minute, only to offer me a wonderful smile shortly after.  
>Then she did something she had never done before and which surprised me. She leaned closer and kissed my cheek, before wrapping her arms around me and leaning her forehead against my chest.<p>

"Thank you." she mumbled against the fabric of my shirt. With a small smile I wrapped my arms around her and just enjoyed holding her in my arms.

* * *

><p>Someone asked me if I am gonna post another story about Mary and Henry, to be honest I have been playing with a few ideas about their married life. So tell me what you think. Interested? Or not?<p> 


	16. The Ban

I'm back after a busy few weeks.

We will finish this story soon, and I am already writing on the sequel about their married life.

So if you have any suggestions and/or wishes of what you would like to see in the sequel, let me know so I can incorporate it :)

And now:

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>I could not believe this. This had to be some kind of cruel joke. I just stared at the letter in my hand. The letter I had received only moments before, delivered by the personal aide of the king himself.<p>

At first I had thought nothing of it, but now, I felt a combination of helplessness and anger boiling inside me.

How could he tell me this? How could he ban me from doing what I wanted? Didn't he understand that this would make me miserable for the rest of my life.

"Henry, dear, please say something." I heard my mother. She had of course read the letter as well and was now staring at me, looking paler than I had ever seen her.

"What am I supposed to say to that?" I spat, it was not my intention to raise my voice to her, but I couldn't help it.

"I know you must be shocked, but…"

"No buts mother and shocked is not the right word. I would say beside myself with anger. How dare he tell me who I can marry and who not." I shouted and jumped up from my chair.

"He is the king…" she reminded me and of course she was right, but I was too angry to care.

"If he wants, I will resign my title. But I will not think about not marrying her." At that my mother paled even more. And I was just as surprised about what I had said, but the moment the words left my mouth,

I knew they were right. I would not allow anyone to tear us apart, no matter who and if I needed to give up my title to be with Mary, so be it.

"Maybe there is another way…" she whispered, but I didn't want to hear any of this. I needed to talk to the king myself. Immediately. Before that I had to talk to Mary though.

So I stormed out of my study, through the long hallways and into the salon where I expected Mary. I was not disappointed. She stood at the window and looked over the grounds in front of her.I had pushed the door so hard that it hit the wall and that made Mary whirl around and look at me with big eyes.

My mother followed closely and looked still in shock.

"Is everything alright?" Mary asked timidly and made a step towards me.

"No… unfortunately it isn't. This just came." I snapped and immediately felt bad for speaking like this to her.

"What is it?" she asked, eying the letter cautiously.

"A letter from the king. He is forbidding us to marry because he thinks your family isn't good enough. Because he doesn't want to be associated with your family." I told her and could see her turning as white as a sheet. Panic appeared on her face and tears sprang to her eyes. She obviously thought this was the end. That she would never be my wife.

To reassure her, I walked closer to her and placed my hands on her small shoulders. I could feel her body tremble beneath my hands.

"Don't worry. I will take care of everything. I will not allow him to decide about my life. I will immediately travel to London and talk to the King myself."

She didn't seem to believe me. She shook her head, looking sadly up at me.

"Henry, please be reasonable. Your anger is understandable but it won't change George's mind. I know him very well." My mother interrupted my thoughts and I whirled around to glare at her. What did she think I was supposed to do? Nothing? I had thought she wanted Mary as her daughter, just as much as I wanted her as my wife.

"Then tell me what I am supposed to do. You won't tell me to just accept his decision." I raised my voice and watched her wince at my tone. I barely spoke to her like this.

"Of course not. And you should go to London, but take Mary with you. I think he will change his mind, when he gets to know her. And don't forget Charlotte, she is a wonderful woman and has quite an influence on him. If you get her to speak for you, I am sure George will approve of your marriage."

That was actually a good idea, I admitted to myself. Mary just needed to convince the queen and then the king could not say still had no time to lose.

Without hesitating any further, I turned to Mary and asked:

"How fast can you pack?"

"It won't take long!" she promised, sounding breathless. Still afraid of what would happen if we could not convince the king. And so was I to be quite honest.

But I would find a way, I vowed to myself, before saying:

"Good. Then hurry. I will take care of everything else in the meantime."

With that I hurried from the room and to the entrance, where I saw one of the servants.

"Tell Jonah, Albert, Greg and Charles that I want them to get ready for an immediate departure to London."

"Yes, my lord." The young servant answered, bowing shortly before hurrying off.

I, myself made my way over to the stables and saddled Arion, still silently fuming. How could the king decide something like that without ever meeting Mary.

I lead Arion out of the stables and saw our escort hurrying past me into the stables to prepare their own horses. I would have gone alone with Mary, if not for all the problems that would cause. Problems we didn't need at the moment, especially not with the king's attention focused on us already.

I mounted Arion and waited impatiently.

Shortly after the men on their horses emerged from the stables, Mary hurried out of the house, carrying a small bag with her. She looked unsure for a moment, but didn't slow down her pace.

She stopped close to Arion, but not close enough for me to help her onto his back. So I steered Arion closer and looked down at her.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded slowly, looking at me with big fearful eyes. If the fear had something to do with Arion or the king's ban on us, I couldn't tell. I guessed a little bit of both.

"Yes." Mary smiled unsure, while I offered my hand to her, to help her onto Arion's back. I easily pulled her up in front of me and wrapped my arm around her middle.

Then I gave the men a sign and we started our way down the path towards London. Mary sat stiffly in front of me, her fear was apparent.  
>I sighed deeply and pulled her a little closer.<p>

"Don't worry. We will get married, one way or another." I whispered into her ear, hoping to calm her fears even when I felt mine all the more.

Because I wanted to offer her the world and I doubted I could do that, once I resigned my title. But if that was necessary to be able to marry her, I was willing to do it. I just hoped Mary wouldn't mind too much. I know that she wasn't interested in my money or the title, but still, being engaged to me must have made her expect certain things of her future and I didn't want to ruin her dreams.

My words surprised her obviously because she turned around and looked at me with big eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought it was obvious." I answered and forced a reassuring smile on my face. "If the king doesn't allow us to get married, I will give up my title. Then he has no right to decide for me anymore."

Her eyes grew even further, when she listened to my words. She obviously couldn't believe it, that I was willing to do this in order to be with her.

"But what about your mother? You cannot do that to her." she gasped, looking shocked.

"She wouldn't care. As long as I am happy. The title never meant anything to her. So she would understand." I told her, even though it was not completely the truth. Of course she would care. But she would accept it, she would have to.

"I… I don't know what to say." Mary said after a few moments, her voice shaking slightly.

"There is nothing you can say. I made up my mind. Nothing can make me change it. But I still hope that the King will understand how wrong he is about you." He just had to. How could someone look at her, or talk to her and not see how perfect she was and the she was far from being a disgrace to my family.

Mary obviously wasn't too happy about my decision or about the prospect of meeting the king very soon. Because her whole body was rigid in front of me and she was shaking slightly, which had nothing to do with the temperature.

Because of that I leaned closer to her ear and whispered:

"Don't be scared my love. I promise you that everything will work out." I sounded more secure than I actually felt, but I wanted to make her feel better and it obviously worked, when I pulled her a little closer. Because she sank against me and sighed quietly.

I enjoyed holding her close and I promised myself that I would do everything to convince the king. All I wanted was to make her happy and for that I was willing to argue with the king, if necessary.

* * *

><p>It was midday, when I allowed our horses to rest for a moment. The animals were exhausted, I could tell. But I had tried to delay our break as much as possible.<p>

We would also only pause for a short while, before continuing our way to London. It was still a long way to go and we hade no time to waste.

After all, we were supposed to get married in one week and I was not ready to postpone that.

I jumped of Arion's back and was sure that Mary would welcome the chance to walk a little. She was not used to sitting on a horse, so her body must be aching badly.

That was why I helped her down as well and when I looked into her dark eyes, I felt my worry return.  
>I never wanted to lose her or make her unhappy.<p>

All I wanted was to pull her into my arms and reassure myself that she would always be there because I would not let her go.

I wasn't sure how she would feel about me touching her like this, with the men around us, so I asked:

"I need to hold you for a moment. Is that alright?"

For a moment she looked perplexed, but only until she said:

"You don't have to ask." Then she actually stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. When she rested her cheek against my chest, I smiled a little and placed my arms around her small shoulders.

"I thought with the guards around, you might feel uncomfortable with this." I whispered into her hair, enjoying our closeness. I loved everything about her, the way she felt in my arms, her smell, her voice… If

I had the choice I would never let her go.

Moments later I voiced those thoughts.

"We will fight for this."

I could feel Mary nodding against my chest, but still holding on to me for dear life.

"I am scared." she finally admitted her fear, which I could understand.

Grudgingly I agreed with her, but it took me a moment to be able to speak those words.

"I know. I am too." 

* * *

><p>R&amp;R please :) Thanks!<p> 


	17. The King

I closed my eyes and sighed deeply. We had reached the small inn hours ago.

I had taken Mary to her room and after that returned to mine. But I couldn't sleep. To many things were running through my mind.

I was worried about what was ahead of us. All I wanted was to have the King tell us that he lifted his ban. Then everything would be alright.

Mary had told me about the letters, my mother had given her. I hoped that would help to convince at least the queen. When we had her on our side, we would be safe.

I broke from my thoughts when I heard a knock on my door. Just a very short one and while I was wondering who was knocking at my door in the middle of the night the door opened already.

I was surprised to see Mary walk into the room. She quickly closed the door behind herself.

"Are you alright…?" Something must have been wrong for her to come into my room in the middle of the night, dressed only in her nightgown and a thin dressing gown.

"Yes…it's just…" She obviously didn't know what to say and felt insecure about being in my room. I knew her well enough to see that, besides she was looking at her feet which was a clear sign that she was embarrassed.

So within a heartbeat I was out of my bed and stopped in front of her. She tensed when she heard me coming, but still didn't look up. To make her look at me, I raised my hand to her chin and cupped it tenderly, before raising it so she had to look me in the eyes.

Now I could see that something was wrong. Tears were shining in her eyes. Something must have happened.

"You look troubled. Are you sure you are alright?" I asked carefully, never breaking our eye contact.

"I had this dream… and it really worried me." she finally whispered and sounded so petrified that my heart broke right that moment.

"Oh, my love. What was it about?" I asked and pulled her into my arms, trying to comfort her. As soon as her forehead touched my bare shoulder she tensed and tried to free herself from my embrace.

"I shouldn't have come. This is very inappropriate." I couldn't help but laugh at that. It was adorable that she realized it NOW. And to be honest I didn't care. I just wanted to hold her, so I pulled her closer and said:

"So?" I could feel her smile, even when I didn't see it. And I knew she had overcome her embarrassment, when she relaxed in my arms, leaning her head against my shoulder.

For a moment, I just held her, until I remembered the reason for her being in my room in the first place. So I lead her over to the bed.

"Do you want to tell me about your dream?" I asked carefully and pulled her onto the bed, so that we were sitting next to one another. She hesitated for a short moment, before she answered:

"About the king and that we will never be allowed to marry." Her answer didn't surprise me, I had been thinking about the very same thing for the last few hours.

"But I already told you that no matter what happens, we will get married." I tried to ease her fear and pulled her back into my arms. Her breath was warm on my chest, when I felt her sigh.

"But I don't want you to give up everything, in order to be with me." She answered, sounding guilty. She obviously still didn't understand just how important she was to me.

"The more important thing is, that I WILL give up everything just to be with you." I tried to make her understand, while softly stroking her back through her dressing gown. These words left her speechless for a while. Which was a good thing in my opinion, so maybe she finally realized that I would do EVERYTHING for her.

When she spoke again, I had to keep myself from groaning in disappointment.

"I guess I should get back to my room and try to find some sleep before we continue our way." Even though her words said one thing, her body was saying something completely different. She wasn't making any move to free herself from my embrace. That made me think something for which my mother would kill me, but I couldn't get it out of my head. So I needed to say it, even though she might feel offended by it.

"You know, my bed is very comfortable. You could stay here, if you want." I received the reaction I had expected, she distanced herself from me with a gasp and looked up at me with big eyes.

"We cannot do that…" After saying those words out loud, I realized just how badly I wanted her to stay. To just hold her and be certain that no one could take her away from me.

"Why not? It is not like something will happen. We will just share one bed, sleeping and not having nightmares. Nothing to be upset about." I tried to convince her and desperately hoped she would say yes.

"But if anyone sees me leaving in the morning, they will think… and what about the king? What if he hears about this? Then he will never allow us to marry." Mary sounded closer to panicking at this very moment, than I had ever heard her and it was understandable considering what her mother must have told her all her life.

"No one needs to know. I will wake you as soon as the sun rises and then you can quickly slip back into your room, before someone sees your in here." I reassured her one last time. If she was still unwilling, I wouldn't push her any further. She looked at me, obviously torn. I felt my heart pounding in my chest and waited impatiently for an answer.

"Alright then." She finally said and surprised not only me, but also herself. Her face spoke volumes, after she realized what she had said. I couldn't help it though. I big smile spread on my face and without giving her time to change her mind I pulled her into the bed and into my arms. I carefully placed the covers over us and wrapped my arms back around her small form. She sighed happily and leaned her forehead against my chest.

It felt wonderful to hold her in my arms and I could not wait until we were married and I could hold her every night, preferably with less clothing between us. I scolded myself immediately for thinking that, but sometimes I couldn't help myself, especially when I was so close to her.

"Good night, Henry." she whispered and I smiled into her sweet smelling hair.

"Sweet dreams, my love." I answered and felt her relax even further. Only moments later she had fallen asleep, I could tell by her even breathing. I smiled to myself, closed my eyes and was asleep not long after.

The moment I woke up, I knew that something was different. I couldn't say what, at least for a short moment.

Until I came to my senses and realized that it hadn't been a dream. That Mary really had spent the night with me, in my bed.

I smiled and enjoyed watching her sleeping form right next to me. She looked so peaceful. Laying on her side, one hand resting against her cheek, the other one curled around my upper arm. I could just stay like this and watch her, but I knew I had to wake her. So that she could leave, before the rest of the inn came to life and would find her in my room.

So I raised my hand to her cheek and softly let my fingers travel over her skin.

"Love, wake up." I whispered and she groaned quietly, only stirring slightly.

"You have to wake up." I said, a little louder this time. But instead of waking up, she rolled around, so that her back was to me and snuggled deeper into the pillows.

I bit back a laugh and brushed her hair away from her face and neck. Then I leaned closer until my lips were almost touching her ear and whispered yet again:

"As much as I would love to watch you sleep, you have to get up, before the rest of the inn wakes."

With a startled gasp, she sat up, staring at me, wide eyed. She just seemed to realize where she was and more important who she was with. She looked absolutely petrified.

Before giving me any chance to say something to calm her, she said:

"I really should go." Within moments she was out of the bed and quickly snuck out of the room. When the door closed behind her, I sighed to myself. It would probably be good not to mention this morning.

I looked out of the small window at the back of the room and got up myself. This day would decide over everything. So we needed to keep going and confront the king.

"Be calm my love, everything will be well. I will talk to the king in the meantime you have the chance to talk to his wife, the queen." I reassured her, when we waited for the royal servants to allow us into the rooms of the king and queen.

"I will try my best." She sighed, when the servant returned who wanted to take me to the king. I smiled one last time at her, before I followed the servant down a hallway.

I held the letter my mother had written to the King in my hand. I didn't know what she had written, but I was more than sure that she would try everything to convince George. I took another deep breath, before I stepped into the throne room. The king sat on his throne and looked down at me expectantly. I shortly bowed and greeted him by saying:

"Your Majesty." He acknowledge my greeting with a short nod and allowed me to come closer. As soon as I did that I started speaking:

"I received your letter and with all due respect I think you have no right to decide about my private life." He raised an eyebrow at my words and smiled a wry smile.

"Until recently I felt the same. But certain facts that have come to my attention make it impossible for me to overlook her social standing. I won't allow someone like her tainting Joana's good name." When he mentioned my mother, I knew it was the perfect moment to give him her letter.

"Mother is just as unhappy about your decision, as I am." I told him and handed him the envelope.

"Interesting." he mumbled, while opening it. I watched him read the letter and felt my heart pounding in my chest. He needed to agree.

"Is it true?"

"What?" I asked, when he finally spoke to me.

"What your mother has written." he continued and I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but I knew everything my mother would write was the truth.

"Yes."

"Very interesting indeed." he mumbled and looked back and forth between the letter and me.


	18. I Love you

Sorry for the long wait. I'll try to post the rest of the story asap.

Now, enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Do you have something else to say before I come to my decision?"<p>

"Yes." This was my last chance to convince him and I needed to do it. "Mary is a wonderful woman, you just need to talk to her and you will see it for yourself. If you are unwilling though, then I will have no choice but to resign my title."

I expected him to be surprised or even angry after my statement, but he laughed quietly and nodded slowly.

"Well, it seems this young woman is certainly special. I will give her a chance to talk to me before I make my final decision. Bring her in."

"Yes, your majesty." I smiled, before quickly leaving the room in search of Mary. On my way down the hallway,

I saw the Queen walking towards the throne room. It seemed that Mary's conversation with the Queen was also over.

I bowed shortly to the Queen, while she hurried past me, without slowing down. Was that a good sign, or a bad sign?

I hoped she understood just how special Mary was.

Now the only question was, where to find my betrothed. I walked to the Queen's salon, sure she would not be far from it.

My eyes scanned the hallway and when I saw the glass door at the far end leading into the garden, I knew where I would find her.

I walked closer to it, but stopped when I heard voices. One I knew very well, Mary's and the other one seemed familiar as well.

When I was able to hear and see them, I realized why the other voice had seemed familiar. It was Camille.  
>What was she doing here? Why was she in the palace?<p>

"Then you are more foolish than I thought. Did you really think I would just accept Henry exchanging me by someone like you?" Camille's angry words explained everything. She was the one responsible for the kings change of heart.

He had said himself, that until recently he had not cared about our marriage. Camille must have told him lies in order to change his mind.

"You told the Queen how unfitting I am…" Mary understood it only moments later. She looked shocked at first and I was ready to walk in and stop Camille before she could hurt Mary with her words.

"I am surprised you understood that. It seems like you are brighter than I thought. But that won't change anything. The king will never allow your marriage and Henry will understand how wrong you are for him. I will become the next Countess and not some strumpet like you." But before I could do something, my beloved fiancé surprised me by staring angrily at Camille, before making a step towards her.

"You are a horrible person. You just think about yourself and don't care about Henry at all. What you want is money and influence. That is the difference between us because I could not care less about his money or the title. The only reason I want to be married to him is because I love him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him."

I froze next to the door. She loved me? She felt the same way I felt for her? For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. I had waited so long for those three words and now she first said it, but not to me.

At the moment, there was no time to talk about our feelings, we would need to talk to the king first.

Therefore, I stepped out of the door and as Mary had her back to me, she could not see me. Camille did though. Her eyes grew wide and she looked panicked for a moment.

"You should leave!" I told her, my voice cold, how dare she talking to my Mary like that.

Mary was frozen to the spot she stood in, obviously unable to move. So I walked closer and placed my hands on her small shoulders, I could feel how tense she was.

"Are you well?" I asked softly, turning her so I could look into her eyes. It was obvious that she was unsure of how much I had heard.

"Yes, I was just…" she was at a loss for words, which made me laugh, before I finished for her.

"Angry?"

"Yes." she said and a soft smile appeared on her lips. It disappeared though, when I continued by saying:

"The king wants to meet you."

Mary nodded slowly and took a deep breath.

"Very well then." I offered my arm to her and led her back into the palace and to the throne room. Her small hand was shaking on my arm and even though I didn't show it, I felt the same way. This was it. Now he would decide, if we were allowed to be married, or not? At least without me having to give up my title.

We stopped shortly in front of the doors of the throne room until the guards opened them for us.

The king was sitting on his throne and the Queen next to him.

As soon as I saw them my heart started to beat wildly in my chest.

We walked towards them and Mary curtsied, while greeting them. I knew her well enough to see how scared she was, but her expression didn't show her emotions. That made me smile proudly to myself.

"Miss Bennet, please come closer." The King said and hesitantly she let go of my arm, only to look fearful into my direction. I gave he a small nod and she turned to walk towards the king. While she did that I realized that Camille was also inside the room. She was standing close to one of the windows looking furious. I hoped that was a good sign.

The King looked for a very long moment at Mary before he said something.

"Envy can be a hideous thing."

"Yes, your majesty." Mary answered, confusion in her voice.

"Women are prone to such low emotions, do you agree, Miss Bennet?" I was sure, Mary would very much like to disagree with him, but she did the right thing and stayed calm.

"I think everyone is prone to it, depending on their character." she told him, which made me feel a surge of pride. The king just had to realize how perfect she was.

She was smarter than any woman I had met before, which was one reason why I loved her.

"True. But it was the envy of a woman that brought you here." The King explained and everyone inside the throne room understood that he was talking about Camille. My heart stated to pound again, but this time because of hope.

Could it be that he had seen the truth?

"Yes, your majesty." I could hear the smile in Mary's voice it seemed like she had understood it as well.

"You are a pretty girl, I can understand why Henry wants you as his wife and I don't see anything wrong with that. So go ahead and get married, you have my blessing." I had to keep myself from running up to Mary and kissing her in front of all those people. I was deliriously happy. The king had revoked his ban on us.

"What… but your majesty. You can't do that, she is nothing but a …" Camille interrupted and hurried to stand next to Mary. I knew the king and I also knew how much he hated to be questioned.

Only moments later, he did what I had expected, he rose from his chair, shouting:

"Don't you dare contradict me."

"Forgive me, your majesty, I didn't…" Camille started, but the king didn't let her finish once again.

"Yes, you didn't. I advise you to leave the palace immediately and do not return." he told her solemnly. I smiled at that and watched Camille leave the hall in a huff. Mary still stood in front of the royal couple, not moving.

She was obviously too shocked, by what had just happened.

I walked up to her, placed my hand on the small of my back and said:

"Thank you your highness." And I meant every word. Only he could guarantee my happiness and he had done so, by finally revoking his ban.

I bowed and Mary seemed to remember where she was and curtsied. Shortly after Mary followed me out of the room. As soon as the doors closed behind us, I pulled her into my arms.

"I told you everything would end well."

I could feel her smile against my shoulder, wrapping her arms tightly around me.

Camille obviously understood that she had lost, because over Mary's head I could see her walk down the hallway until she disappeared.

"I will never doubt you again." Mary whispered, muffled by my chest and I smiled. I would hold her to that.

"How about we leave for home? After all our marriage is in four days." I reminded her and when I felt her stiffen in my arms, I knew she had actually forgotten it with her relief about the king's decision.

* * *

><p>I waited patiently, or not so much for the night and that everyone finally fell asleep, only then I could go to Mary's room and talk to her about he confession to Camille.<p>

We were staying at the same inn, as we had on the way to the king's castle.

I paced in front of the small fireplace and looked out of the window ever so often to wait until it was time for me to go to Mary's room.

After an eternity, at least to me it felt like that it was finally dark outside and quiet in front of my room. This was my chance to get to Mary's room unnoticed.

I quickly used my chance, left my room and walked over to hers. I just hoped that she wasn't already asleep.

When I was sure that no one was around, I knocked at her door and entered before someone could see me.

Mary just climbed out of her bed, dressed only in a thin nightgown, her hair slightly ruffled, but to me she had never looked more beautiful when she looked up at me with big eyes.

I closed the door behind me and smiled at my betrothed. I still could not believe that she loved me. Of course I had hoped that one day she would return my feelings, but this soon was more than I could have dreamed of.

"I need to talk to you." I told her and walked closer to her.

"About what?" Her confusion was obvious, as well as her nervousness as she was wringing her hands.

"Something very important." I told her honestly stopping mere inches in front of her. I loved to look into her dark eyes and knew that I had made the right decision in choosing her.

"You are frightening me…" she said, her expression unsure. That actually made me smile a little.

"There is no need to be frightened, my love. I just need to talk to you about your conversation with Camille and what you told her."

Mary paled at my words, panic exchanged the look of surprise on her face. Why was she so afraid that I had heard her confession, which meant everything to me.

"I… you don't have to say anything to it… just forget it." She seemed so ashamed that I could only come to one conclusion.

"You don't mean it then?" Her eyes grew even wider at my words and while she stared at me, contemplating her answer, my heart was pounding in my chest. What if she didn't mean it? Her words had meant the world to me and I wanted nothing more than for her to say those words again, but to me.

"I do. But it is alright with me that you don't feel the same way." She finally said, her cheeks bright red. How could she doubt my feelings for her? Had I not shown her time and again how precious she was to me?

"Who said that I don't?" I asked and her utter confusion was just too adorable. Before she had the chance to say something, I closed the gab between us and kissed her.

I pushed my hands through her soft hair and enjoyed the feeling against my hands while I pulled her a little closer. Her body was leaning against mine and what I had intended to be a short kiss, turned into much more.

I kissed her thoroughly and enjoyed her passionate response, as well as her small hands on my back.  
>I realized after some moments that I needed to stop. I had not come here for this. So I pulled away, even though it was very hard for me. Even harder when I heard her sigh disappointed. Despite the situation I couldn't help but chuckle, she loved me.<p>

I took her beautiful face in my hands and said:

"I loved you since our time at Pemberley. Why do you think I wanted to marry you?" Even though I had known what would happen once I told her, seeing the tears in her eyes, hurt me.

"Don't cry, my love. It pains me."

"I am sorry." She sniffed, closing my eyes for a moment. Obviously fighting back the tears.

"There is no need to apologize. It take those are happy tears?" What else could it be after she had told me that she loved me and I had said the same?

"Of course. How could they not be? I love you so much." She laughed, which made my heart skip a beat. I would never get enough of hearing those three words coming out of her mouth.

That was why I pulled her back into my arms, her head resting against my shoulder, just to be able to be close to her. And enjoy the fact that she loved me back.

* * *

><p>"You are back. I was so nervous. What did George say?" My mother asked out of breath, shortly after we reached the mansion. I had just lifted Mary off my horse, when she had come running. I kept my hands around<p>

Mary's small waist and enjoyed the chance to touch her, before we would have to go out separate ways.

"He gave us his blessing, of course." I told her with a smile and Mary giggled. That was a good sign, she was carefree again, just how I wanted my bride to be so shortly before our wedding.

"Oh, that is wonderful. But that means you are getting married the day after tomorrow." Mother gasped and pulled me in for a quick hug, so I had to let go of Mary, who was hugged shortly after me.

"That is correct." I said amused by her excitement.

"We still have so much to do. You need to try on your gown. The dressmaker has done her job wonderfully, now we just need to see if it fits you." She told Mary and remembered her dozing off quite a few time while we were riding. Which meant she was in no condition to actually plan our wedding now.

"I am sure that can wait until later. We are both exhausted from the travel, I am sure Mary would like to take a bath and rest."

"Of course. I forgot my manners. Let me take care of everything my dear. Henry, I trust you to escort her to her room." She put special emphasis on the to which made me laugh and Mary blush. If my mother knew what we had done during our time away, she would probably kill me. Sleeping in one bed, despite being fully clothed, was a scandal.

"Of course, mother." I smiled and by my mother's frown I could say that she had certain suspicions regarding our travel. I just continued to smile and placed my hand on the small of Mary's back, leading her into the mansion.

"I wonder if my family missed me." Mary said out loud after we climbed the stairs to the first floor.

"We were not gone for more than three days, I do not think they have. Otherwise my mother would have said something." I answered. It was possible not to meet each other in days, the mansion was big enough.

Besides, I knew that Mary had avoided her mother and Kitty as much as possible anyway.

Not long after we reached the door to her room. I didn't want to leave her side, but knew that I had to. So I smiled down at her.

"Rest. I will make sure the maids prepare a bath for you and also bring you something to eat."

"Thank you." Mary smiled at me, before opening the door and walking into her room. When the door closed behind her, I sighed deeply. I couldn't wait to be married to her. The good thing was that it was only two days until we would be married.

But until then there was still a lot to do. With that in mind, I turned around and made my way to my office. Seeing how much work I had missed in those days, I had been gone.

* * *

><p>So anyone still with this?<p> 


	19. Final Preparations

Oh gosh, I am soooo sorry. I completely forgot to update it :)

But life has been just beyond hectic, the horrors of being self employed.

So I will see to it that I update more recently now, as I have finished the story on my computer already.

Now enjoy!

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><p>"I take your wife has already gone to see her sister." I smiled, when Fitzwilliam Darcy joined me in the library.<p>

"Yes, she could not wait to see her again." Darcy answered, bowing his head to me. I returned the gesture and offered him a seat across from me.  
>He sat down and I closed the book I had been reading up until now.<p>

"And my congratulations on your wife's pregnancy." I smiled at him and even though Fitzwilliam was not a very cheerful person, a big smile broke out on his face. Making him seem years younger than her was. He should do that more often.

He seemed incredibly happy and he deserved it, after taking care of his younger sister, when his parents had died so very young.

Obviously former Miss Elisabeth Bennet made him happy, just like her sister made me happy.

"Thank you. We are very excited." he told me, still smiling and I could understand that. When Mary would expect our first born, I would be beside myself with excitement and happiness as well.

This moment I realized that all this happiness was waiting for me at the horizon. With Mary almost being my wife, I would be happy, until the day we left this earth.

My thoughts were interrupted when the door to the library opened and both women walked in, happily oblivious to our presence.

That gave me time to look at my beautiful fiancé. She was dressed in a simple blue dress that accented her womanly figure. Once more she had her hair pulled into a tight bun in the nape of her neck. She still looked beautiful but I preferred her hair open, so I could run my hands through it.

That thought made me smile and step closer to her, making our presence known.

"Good Morning. I hope you rested well." They turned to look at us and the surprise was obvious on their features.

"Yes. I have." She smiled at him, looking radiant, before turning to Mr. Darcy.

"It is nice to see you again. Mr. Darcy." She greeted him and curtsied, at which I smiled. In the future there would be no need to do that. Mr. Darcy would be the one who had to show her respect. But as I knew her, she would still do it.

"The pleasure is all mine." Darcy answered bowing his head deeply. He obviously knew how to treat the soon-to-be Countess. Then he made his way over to his wife. It gave me the chance to do the same with Mary. I stopped only a few inches away from her and smiled down at her.

"You look very pretty, my love." I shortly touched her cheek with my fingertips unable to keep my hands to myself, before leaning a little closer to her.

"I prefer your hair open though. You have no reason to hide it. It looks perfect." I whispered and watched Mary blush.

"Thank you." She answered, looking at me with bright eyes, I just leaned even closer to give her a short kiss, when Mrs. Darcy reminded me of the presence of herself and her husband.

"I need to see your dress Mary. I am so excited." Immediately I took a step back, I would have liked to spend some time alone with her, but knew that in a day she would be all mine and her sister would be gone again. So she might enjoy her company while it was possible.

Mary agreed with her sister, before giving me one last soft smile. Then they hurried from the room and stayed behind with Fitzwilliam who smiled knowingly. He obviously knew the feeling of being completely absorbed in your bride.

At least he was smart enough to not comment on it.

Even my patience had it's ends.  
>_<p>

I sat in the sun and enjoyed working outdoors, which not only had to do with the weather but also with my attempt to hide from Miss Kitty. She had interrupted my work quite a few times already to ask me irrelevant questions. But I had answered all of them as politely as possible, before excusing myself.

Now I enjoyed the silence and actually managed to do some work. Until the terrace door opened.

To my relief it was not Kitty. It was indeed Mary who stormed out in a huff. I had only seen her this flustered a few times before and I wondered what had set her off this time. Without getting up from my chair, I said:

"You look flustered, are you alright?" In an instant, a smile appeared on her lips and she turned towards me.

"My sister Lydia and her husband just arrived." She said and I wondered what was so bad about that? I lowered the letter I was holding and hoped for explanation, but what I got was something I hadn't expected.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your work. I just wanted some fresh air, I will go for a walk in the park and you can return to your correspondence." She told me and looked so guilty, as if she had just committed a murder. Before she had the chance to hurry towards the park I stopped her by saying:

"Mary…. Come here, please." Obviously unsure she walked closer to me, chewing on her bottom lip, which was a clear sign that she thought she had done something wrong. She needed to understand that in my eyes she could do no wrong. When she was close enough to me, I took hold of her hands and pulled her to the lounge, next to me.

"I am very sorry, I really didn't mean to disturb you…" She started, but stopped, when I placed one of my hands on her cheek while shaking my head.

"Why are you apologizing?" I asked, looking her straight in the eye. I hoped she would understand it by herself that she had done nothing wrong.

"I just didn't want to trouble you…" She offered with a shrug.

"Did you know I was out here?" I asked softly and Mary looked confused before answering:

"No…"

"Did you know I was working?"

"No."

"Then what are apologizing for?" I finally asked with a smile. Mary studied me for a moment, before she said:

"I … don't know." I had to chuckle, seeing her confusion.

"You still need to learn that you don't have to apologize all the time. Especially for things you have no control over. Besides, I don't mind being interrupted by you. Never!" I told her with a smile at which she sighed in relief. Then she just looked up at me, allowing me to keep holding her hands.

"You said your sister arrived…" I reminded her and she nodded slowly.

"Yes. And her husband…Mr. Wickham." She spat, I had never heard her talk about another person like that. Not even Mr. Henceforth who had dared to insult her.

"Why do you dislike him so much?" I couldn't help but wonder. Of course I knew her sister running away with him and from what Fitzwilliam had told me he had something to do with those two getting married. But that was all. To me it seemed Mary knew more than I did.

"He almost prevented Lizzy and Mr. Darcy from finding one another, because he was telling her lies about him… and…. Well he did something horrible with a good friend of mine, but I cannot tell you. I am sorry. But it is very private and I promised never to tell anyone."

"That is quite alright." I reassured her with a small smile, I was proud that she did not tell me everything and go back on her word. It spoke for her character that she was not willing to share this secret with me.

"I heard a few things about this man from Mr. Darcy. It seems he is not the most pleasant man." I told her and she rolled her eyes at that.

"That is an understatement!"

"You said something about a walk in the park, may I join you?" I changed the subject, this day was much to nice to think negative, besides it gave me the chance to be alone with her again. So I flashed her my most charming smile and hoped it would work.

"Of course." And it did. I would need to keep it in mind that Mary, up until now, had never said no to me, when I used that smile. Maybe that could be helpful in our marriage. I thought with a small smile, before getting up and offering my arm to her.

She placed her hand on my arm and I lead her down the path to the garden which was furthest away from the windows. Maybe I would find a moment to steal a kiss or two from my lovely bride.

* * *

><p>"My lord. This is my older sister Lydia Wickham." Kitty introduced her sister to me the next day. I smiled an empty smile, like I had done so many times with Camille before.<p>

"It is a pleasure." I told her bowing my head. She curtsied, not very gracefully, which she obviously inherited from her mother, as well as her, in my eyes, plain looks.

"No, the pleasure is mine. This mansion is beautiful, I cannot believe how lucky Mary is to have found someone like you. So rich and handsome." she told me and I bit back a smile before replying:

"I am the lucky one, to have found someone as wonderful as Mary. Who does not care about richness or appearance." I told them which shocked them into silence. I used this moment to excuse myself and hurry back into the house. I needed a new place to hide until Mary's family left.

"Oh, my lord. There you are, there is something I wanted to talk to you about." I heard a familiar voice. The one of no one else but Mrs. Bennet.

"And that is?" I asked curiously and stopped walking.

"I was thinking that my family and I might stay a little longer, a few weeks, to help my little Mary adjust to her new married life. It will be difficult for her with all her new duties, I am sure she could use the help."

This speech was offending in a few points. The first was that she didn't want to stay for the sake of Mary and helping her. She wanted to stay because of the luxury of the mansion. The second was implying that Mary might not be a good wife to me. And the third being that my mother would not help her with her duties.

"That is very generous of you Mrs. Bennet, but completely unnecessary. My mother as well as I will help her adjust. You sure are eager to return to your own household and see if everything is going right."

Mrs. Bennet blushed and I knew I had won, when she mumbled.

"Of… of course. You are right. I just wanted to offer my help in case. But you are right, I am needed at home."

Amused I watched her squirm, before I excused myself again and walked through the entrance hall thinking about a good place to hide. And then it came to me. With Arion in the stables. Most women did not fancy horses. Only men on horses, I thought with a wry smile, thinking of Mary's sisters.

I entered the stables and walked through them to the end to sit down in the soft hey, next to Arion. He affectionately nudge my shoulder and I petted him before leaning against the wooden wall, hidden from view.

Not long after I heard footsteps and a man talking to one of the stable boys.

Then his footsteps stopped in front of one of the boxes. He was examining the horses. I wondered why, as they were not for sale.

Soon enough I heard another set of footsteps, softer. Most definitely female and then Mary's voice, I would recognize anywhere.

"Hello Beautiful." She must have been talking to one of the horses. The stable boy had mentioned Mary coming into the stables more often in the last couple of weeks. I wondered if she was thinking about my offer and teaching her how to ride.

My thoughts were stopped when the man, who appeared to be no one else but George Wickham started to talk to Mary.

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><p>Again, sorry for the long wait. I promise to update on the weekend :)<p> 


	20. The Wedding

Oh gosh, I am soooo sorry. I completely forgot to update it last weekend.

Again, sorry!

So this is the last chapter of the forgotten sister from Henry's POV. Thanks to all my faithful readers, you really made this worthwile and I want to thank everyone who took some time to review!

You're all awesome!

As I am working on the sequel already, let me know if there is something you'd like to see in the next installment, this time about Henry's and Mary's married life. I'm always happy about input.

Now enjoy!

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><p>"Miss Bennet." he greeted her walking closer to her, I could hear his steps. I thought about showing myself, but I was curious as well, so I waited for the time being.<p>

I bit back a chuckle, when Mary just ignored him and kept talking to the horse, he obviously didn't understand it the right way, because his footsteps walked even closer to her and then he said something that made my blood boil.

"You know, I never realized how beautiful you are. Until now." How dare he try that with my fiancé, in my house, more or less, as we were in the stables. But still. I was about to get up, when Mary's words stopped me.

"Don't talk to me." She told him very seriously, which seemed to surprise him.

"Why not?" And what she said next made me sit back down. My wonderful bride had everything under control.

"Because you are a horrible person. I don't want you in my home, I don't want you anywhere near my family and I don't want you anywhere near me. So just leave me alone." She told him with a huff. I like that she had called the mansion her home, that was important to me.

"I am your sister's husband." Wickham told her, obviously surprised by my words.

"I know that, but I don't appreciate how you became that. Lydia deserves someone better than you. Or just someone who is not you. Besides, I know everything about the lies you told Lizzy about Mr. Darcy, as well as what you tried to do to my friend Georgiana." So that was what she didn't tell me. The secret of a friend was actually Georgiana Darcy's that would explain the hate in Fitzwilliam's eyes, when he talked about him. For a moment Mary had stunned Wickham into silence.

"How can you talk to me like that? How dare you!" he finally growled and made a step towards her. I felt torn sitting in my hiding place. Part of me wanted to jump up and take care of the situation but another part was so proud of Mary, that I wanted to wait and see what else she would do.

"It is the truth." She answered before I could decide what to do.

"You are nothing but a common strumpet, how dare you speak to me like that. You think you are better than I, now that you are going to marry an Earl? But you are not. You will always be nothing. So don't forget where your place is."

Now, I knew what I would do. I would not allow any man to talk to her like that. I got up from the ground but still hidden by a wall. Before I could make a step towards them, I heard Mary again.

"You can name yourself lucky that the Earl didn't hear you talking to me like that…" I smiled at that, as I had. But she was right, I did not take it very well, when something like this happened.

"I will simply forget what happened here because I feel sorry for you. You will never be happy with what you have because you always want more. You are a greedy, sad little man and I am happy that after tomorrow I don't have to associate with you ever again." Mary told him and I was flooded once again by pride for my brave and smart betrothed.

Without giving him the chance to say something, Mary turned around and walked out of the stables. I in contrast actually walked closer to Wickham, until I was only a few feet away.

He was still too shocked to feel my presence.

"She is right. But that does not mean, that you do not deserve a good beating for what you said." I growled and he whirled around. His face showed his fear and I enjoyed it, stepping even closer and grabbing a hand full of his collar.

"Let me use words your kind understands. Stay away from her, never talk to her again, or I will make you regret the day you were born."  
>I pushed him hard at that. So hard, that he fell to the ground and stayed there. I just gave him a last pitiful glance, before turning around and leaving as well.<p>

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><p>"It's time to go to the chapel." My mother told me, brushing imaginary lint off my coat.<p>

"I know." I told her with a bright smile. I would marry her now. Finally, she would be my wife and nothing could ever separate us again.

"I am so happy. You made the right decision." she said and I smile brightly.

"I know and I am sure I will never regret it. I love her."

"Good. Then let's go and not let her wait." She said with tears in her eyes. She couldn't wait for Mary to be her daughter.

With a smile I offered her my handkerchief first and after that my arm. She took both, before I lead her out of my working room and to the chapel, that was filled with fresh flowers. I was sure Mary would like it.

It was filled with dozens of people. All of them important, all of them irrelevant to me. If it were for me, only Mary and I needed to be here.

I walked up next to the minister and my mother took the seat in the first row smiling at me. The moments before the music started felt like the longest moments of my life. Then, lead by her father Mary walked into the chapel. Dressed in a beautiful white gown, that showed enough skin to make me want to pick her up and carry her to our bedroom, right now. But that needed to wait until later.

She walked closer and I could see the tears in her eyes again. After her father kissed her cheek and took hold of her hand, I whispered:

"Don't cry my love."

"I'm just so happy."

I squeezed her hand shortly, before the minister started to speak and we turned to look at him. Just like everyone else inside the room.

"We are gathered here today to witness the coming together of two people, Mary and Henry, whose hearts and spirits are entwined as one. They now desire to profess before all the world their intention henceforth to walk the road of life together.  
>Dedication, love, and joy can grow only when you nourish them together. Stand fast in that hope and confidence, having faith in your shared destiny just as strongly as you have faith in yourselves and in one another today. Only with this spirit can you forge a union that will strengthen and endure all the days of your lives."<p>

I would prefer a shorter ceremony I thought, but tried not to show my impatience, when the minister turned towards me.

"Henry Charles Howard 3. Earl of Suffolk, will you receive Miss Mary Bennet as your wife? Will you pledge to her your love, faith and tenderness, cherishing her with a husband's loyalty and devotion?"

I turned my eyes towards Mary. I would not say yes to the minister. I would promise all these things and more to Mary. No one else. Her tears had dried, fortunately. I hated to see her cry, especially on a day like this.

„I will." I finally said, smiling at her.

The minister turned to Mary, looking pleased. I squeezed Mary's hand shortly when the minister started to talk again.

„Mary Bennet, will you receive Henry Charles Howard as your husband? Will you pledge to him your love, faith and tenderness, cherishing him with a wife's loyalty and devotion?"

"I will." She smiled and looked up at me. Her love for me was just as obvious as mine was for her and didn't want it any other way.

"The rings…" We heard the minister say and I took a simple golden ring from a white cushion one of the servants offered to me.

I took her hand in mine and felt her tremble slightly. That made my smile grow wider:

"I take you, Mary, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us." Another shiver ran through her, while I placed the ring on her finger.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you."

Mary smiled up at me, not moving after I had done my part. It was as if she was happy with just standing there, not a care in the world. But I was growing a little impatient. I wanted her as my wife and for that we needed to continue.

Because of that I nudged her softly and whispered:

"I think we should proceed."

Mary blushed, when she nodded and took the ring and then my hand.

"I take you, Henry, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us."

I loved watching her say those things because now it would be official, she would be mine. And to be honest I was tired of holding back or waiting. I just wanted to be close to her.

My not so pure thoughts were interrupted, when she placed the ring on my finger, continuing with the vow:

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you."

"With this statement made of love and trust, which we have just heard, I now pronounce you husband and wife."  
>The minister finally concluded and it took all of me not to grin like a fool and kiss her. But my mother had told me countless of times, that in front of the nobles of England I could not show such affection. It would have to wait until later.<p>

Frustrated I leaned closer and pressed a short kiss to her forehead. I made sure that she heard my passionate promise.

"Later."

Not long after we were pulled into a whirlwind of congratulations and hugs, from her family and then followed by people that she didn't know, but I did. And that needed to be introduced. So we spent a lot of time doing exactly that, though I could see on Mary's face that she was just as interested in it as I was. All we could concentrate on was being so close to one another, feeling her warm body next to mine. Which did things to me that I could not act upon. Not yet at least.

We would have to wait until the festivity was over.

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><p>Hours later I found myself running out of patience. The festivities were going on for hours and all I wanted was to take my beautiful, young wife to our rooms.<p>

Our rooms! Where we would spend all nights from now on, lying next to one another, preferably even more than that. Mary looked exhausted as well, so I placed my hand on her elbow and said:

"It seems as everyone is preoccupied. How about we go to our room and find some quiet?"

She nodded happily, allowed me to take her hand and lead her out of the ballroom. No one saw us exiting the room and I smiled at that. I didn't want to answer any more questions tonight. This had been enough for one night, for one lifetime to be quite honest.

I lead her up the stairs to our new room, she had never seen before, as my mother had strictly forbidden it.

I finally opened a double winged door to our right and pulled her into a small salon. I gave Mary a short moment to study the gift of my mother, while I closed the door. Then I turned to my new wife and she looked at me with something akin to panic in her eyes. I knew that she was nervous. And did not know what would happen know. After all how much did she know about the relations between men and women?

I did not want her dread our wedding night though, so I raised my hand and cupped he cheek.

"Do not be nervous my love. Everything will be perfect." I promised running my other hand soothingly over her back. She relaxed a little, that was a good sign.

"I know… I love you…. I trust you." She said and looked a little more sure of herself.

"Good, because I have been waiting all night to do this." I grinned, before leaning down and kissing her, like I had dreamt off since…. Forever.

My hand on her back pulled her closer to me so that our bodies were touching, which made her gasp into our kiss, at which I smiled. I wanted her to enjoy this night, just as much as I did.

She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and kissed me back, just as passionately until we had to end it in order to breathe.

"I love you." I whispered my voice hoarse, when I pressed my lips to her jaw. "Forever." I continued and this time I kissed her neck, just below her ear, which made a soft moan escape her lips. I would need to remember that spot for later, I thought with a smile.

Out of patience, I scooped her up into my arms and carried her through the salon towards another door, the bedroom door.

Mary laid relaxed in my arms, her head resting on my shoulder. Her fear from before forgotten and there was no reason to fear her. I loved her and I would make sure that this night was special to her, like she was special to me.

Finally our future together could start.

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><p>So, that's it. Hope you liked it, don't forget to leave me some ideas for the sequel.<p>

Until then :)


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